Fault Lines
by Cara-dactyl
Summary: Kevin has realized how much Double D goes through on a daily basis and regrets some of the things he's done to him in the past. Now he is determined to watch out for the smart Ed in their final high school year to make sure he doesn't go through any more grief. Many lemony moments!
1. Chapter 1

**I created my own character, Anna, for a few parts of the story, but don't worry. She only appears a few minor times, just to keep the story going. I would have used Nazz, but she seemed too intimidating for the part. (Besides, I'm using her for something else.)**

**I DID originally start this story out in middle school, but many people have PMed me and asked to upgrade it to high school, and I kinda liked that idea better. So the story will be the exact same, except it won't be based after that one episode. Still gonna use references from the shows, though. Also, I trimmed some of the unnecessary/loose ends off the story, so it's gonna be a bit shorter, but it'll be more to the point.**

**I do not own Ed Edd n Eddy, nor do I own Nat Goldberg. These are other people's toys and I'm just playing with them.**

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It was one of those days where no matter how hard he tried; nothing seemed to go Edd's way. Within in the last few weeks alone, he had butted heads with his two best friends more than he wanted to. Also it seemed that he was slipping in his perfect attendance records. However this last time, Edd had really messed up his friendships with Eddy and Ed and he knew it. His so-called 'friends' had taken it upon themselves to prank the entire basketball team after school by oiling the court and the basket hoops and Edd had ratted them out on it, fearing what would happen if the team found out it was them.

Edd had been a part of this prank at first, however after consideration for his friends' well being as well as his own, he backed out, and told the coach what they had done. Not only that but their cul-de-sac neighbor Kevin was the captain of the basketball team. Edd both admired and feared the boy, and to keep him from getting hurt and taking it out on them, he had told.

While Edd faced a detention, the coach had forced Ed and Eddy to stay at practice with the team, who very grudgingly and not-so-gently played with them. Needless to say by the end of practice, the two Eds, mainly Eddy, had come back out with many a bruise and scrape. Eddy was seething at Edd when he came out and swore that the sockhead ruined everything, and big Ed was too oblivious to Eddy's rage to know that this was a serious problem. Since then Edd hadn't heard anything from either.

Edd believed that it didn't do any good to fight with the other two Eds. No matter what the risk or punishment was, Eddy could not stop trying to cheat and swindle people out of their money or to find some reason to put others down to make himself look good. Even now in their Senior year of high school, Eddy could not give up chasing that almighty dollar.

Lately, and more often than not, Edd found himself all alone at lunch and at recess. Although he had tried his hardest to regain Ed and Eddy's friendship many times, offering to help them do their homework, opening doors for them, etc...it seemed that he was failing miserably. Two nights ago, Edd worried himself sick over their fights and subsequently missed school the next day due to fever, which cost him his perfect attendance record.

Even though Edd was going through such a hard time, his mind was still focused solely on his grades. It was a fault of his, he worked so hard to achieve academic excellence that he often came off as uncaring and aloof towards the ones he cared about. After an entire three years of perfect grades in middle school, Edd was placed in all the advanced classes in high school. Due to the fact that he was so much farther ahead than the rest of his class, he was often the most bullied out of the three Eds, especially when Eddy and Ed weren't around to help him.

Presently, Edd was sitting in Literature class. Sitting beside him was his new friend, Anna. He didn't really have much to do with the purple haired girl except for the classes they had together. They had become friends one day while Edd was in the nurse's office, helping sort files. It was the first day after Edd had stuck up for Kevin and Eddy was giving him the cold shoulder. So Edd vouched for hiding in the nurse's office during the lunch hour instead of risking the chance of running into a hostile Eddy in the cafeteria.

In that time, this girl Anna had come in to the nurse's office needing a band-aid for a rather nasty paper cut. Edd tutted about cleanliness and helped sanitize and bandage the cut and since then, he and Anna always somehow found each other during the school day and chatted if only for a few minutes. Edd told her all his stories about every scam and every adventure that he'd had with his two friends in the cul-de-sac.

A poke in his right shoulder brought him into the present again and he turned to face Anna who was smiling brightly at him. This class had approximately 13 people, but Edd only knew 3 of them. Anna sat beside Edd in the row on his right side, and two seats behind Anna, sat Kevin. Beside Kevin sat Nat, and both jocks were surrounded by all of their football and basketball friends. Often times, Edd tried his hardest not to meet Kevin's gaze out of both fear and out of admiration.

He respected Kevin very much. If he didn't, he wouldn't have stood up for Kevin and the team, and he would still have his two best friends with him. However Kevin seemed to have long forgotten that Edd had helped him. Every day Edd would come in to Literature and Kevin and Nat would either fly paper airplanes that had _DORK _or _Double dweeb_ scribbled all over it or would flick erasers at his head or would just sit with their friends and snort and choke on laughter, no doubt at Edd's expense.

It was close to the end of the school day, the clock showed 2:55pm and soon Edd would be on his way back to his empty house filled with chores scribbled on notes by his parents who were never around. His life was pretty monotonous, yes but still, it was his life. Only one more semester of high school, then he would be in college where, hopefully, things would be better. Anna brought him back to the present one more time by saying, "So, talked to Ed or Eddy?" Out of his peripheral vision, Edd could see Kevin stop talking with his friends to look over at the two and listen quietly, although he could not fathom why Kevin of all people would care.

Edd held back a sigh and forced a weak smile. "No, not exactly…I met Ed in the cafeteria today, however he simply made a comment about the lack of gravy on the food, then walked away." Anna shook her head and said "Gee, Double D. I'm awful sorry." The boy waved his hand nonchalantly and said "It is quite alright Anna. Thank you for your sympathy."

Just then the bell that signaled 3:00 and the end of school rang; and everyone got up in a rush to leave the room. Edd packed his bag and stood up to leave but his eye caught Kevin, who was still sitting in his chair, staring at him. For the first time that day, Edd turned and looked Kevin in the eye and smiled sheepishly. "Good day, Kevin." When he didn't get an immediate response, Edd took that as his cue to get lost. Anna was standing in the hall waiting for him and when he got out to her she asked him "Hey Double D, do you mind walking home with me? I live on the street that leads to the cul-de-sac so it wouldn't be out of your way." Edd gave her his usual gap-toothed grin and said "I would love to. It would be nice to have some company on my walk for once."

The two young teens set off down the street on the way to the cul-de-sac talking and giggling. Edd had used to ride the bus, but because Ed and Eddy ride the bus, he feared that it would only cause an awkward moment or something even worse. Even though it was quite a walk, Edd would rather do that than ride the bus at the moment. As the two walked down the street the yellow bus flew by them and they both looked up just in time to see Ed's face squished against one of the windows in a strained face and in the window behind him, Eddy was giving Edd the finger. Edd sighed and shook his head while Anna glared after them.

For a few minutes they walked in silence, then after a bit Anna opened her mouth and said "Well to be honest he's not really the kind of person you should be friends with, Double D. You're so much nicer and smarter than he is." Edd said nothing in response and they continued to walk in the quiet. After a few blocks, they came to a stop at Anna's. The cul-de-sac was still a few blocks away and the sky was becoming cold and cloudy. Anna looked up as she turned into her yard then looked back at Edd and said "Hey, you wanna come inside with me for a bit? It looks like it's gonna rain." Edd smiled his gap-toothed smile at her and said "You're too kind Anna but I think I will just keep going. I have much homework and a few inevitable chores to take care of. I do appreciate the offer though." He bid her farewell and turned to keep walking as she went into her house.

True to Anna's word the skies opened up a little more than a few minutes later and began to drop ice cold water onto Edd. Not that he minded, as he was lost in thought. He was extremely sad that he was not on good terms with the two people he cared most for in the entire world. He wished he hadn't told. He wished he would have just stepped aside and let Kevin and the team deal with them in their own way. Then maybe even though they would have had a few bruises and maybe a broken bone or two, they would still be friends. Edd would take that over the stone cold silent treatment any day.

A car rounded the corner and as it drove past him, a spray of the dirty water on its tires drenched him. Edd let out a loud groan of frustration and brought his arms up and crossed them over his chest to keep warm as he continued down the street. As he was walking, he could hear smaller tires coming up the sidewalk behind him. They were coming at him too fast for him to get out of the way to avoid being splashed again so he decided to just let it happen. However the tires seemed to slow down as they got to him and Edd turned to see none other than Kevin on his bicycle slowing to a stop beside him. Kevin was also wet, but had his black jacket zipped up and his hood pulled up over his cap. He scowled down at the wet boy and said "Get on, Double dork."

Edd was stunned for a moment and stuttered back "W-What did you sa-" Kevin cut him off and snapped in response. "You heard me. Get on before I change my mind." Edd didn't need any more assurance and quickly mounted the bike behind Kevin. Soon the wind and rain drops were whipping around them as Kevin pedaled faster around corners and over curbs towards their cul-de-sac. Although he was terrified of falling off the bike, Edd kept his hands firmly clasped together at his chest, fearing that if he even slightly touched Kevin, the jock would throw him off in a puddle. Kevin seemed to know what he was thinking and turned back to tell him "Hold onto my jacket, dork. I'm not slowing down." Edd did as he was told and leaned forward against Kevin's back and grabbed the hem of his black jacket.

For a moment Edd lost himself. Kevin's scent was unlike any other boy's scent that Edd had ever known. Even Eddy didn't smell as good as Kevin. The jock smelled musky but not too much. It was truly an intriguing scent. Kevin shifted a little against Edd and made a small noise as he readjusted. For a moment, Edd could have almost sworn he heard Kevin said "Sorry, dork." The rest of the ride was spent in absolute quiet save for the rain falling around them.

When the boys reached the cul-de-sac Kevin non-too-gently skidded to a halt right in front of Edd's house. As Edd dismounted the bike he gathered the courage to face Kevin and clear his throat. Kevin raised an eyebrow at Edd but was quiet nonetheless. The sock-headed boy finally spit the words out. "Kevin, did you…say something just a moment ago?"

Kevin just looked at the Ed in front of him. His instinct initially told him to just say no and leave, but as he looked at Edd, he found that he didn't want to just lie to him. So he reached up and adjusted the bill of his red hat a little lower to cover his eyes and said "Yeah, dork. Didn't you listen? I said that I was sorry."

This seemed to brighten Edd's face up a little and he said "Oh, whatever for Kevin?" Kevin shifted uncomfortably and said "You know… for treating you the way I did. Especially after you helped me the other day…" The rain seemed to lighten but the gray coldness of autumn still surrounded them. Edd continued "Well, Kevin although I am confused, I suppose I do forgive you. But I must ask you, why are you apologizing?"

Kevin huffed and turned forward on his bike and said "Don't worry about it, dorky." As Kevin was about to ride away, without thinking, Edd quickly spouted "You smell very nice, Kevin." Kevin turned to look at him with a somewhat shocked and slightly disturbed look. "What?"

Edd backtracked slightly; he brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck and laughed nervously. "Uh, what I meant to say was… your cologne smells nice." Kevin continued to stare and said "I'm not wearing any cologne." Edd's face paled and Kevin smirked to himself and shook his head. "Whatever. See you at school tomorrow, Double dweeb."

As Kevin pedaled away, he could feel his cheeks pinken. He really wasn't wearing any cologne or spray of any kind. The sockhead was incredibly feminine in that aspect, however, and the ginger found that to be incredibly adorable. Not that Edd would ever have to know.

As Kevin pulled up to his house, he found Nat waiting on his porch. "Where the hell you been, Kev? I've been standing here forever!" As Kevin pulled his bike into his garage he snorted and said "Quit being a drama queen. I was giving a kid a ride home." Nat, who stood over in the doorway, smirked then said "Oh really? Who?"

Kevin knew that Nat already knew who it was, because he was standing across the street watching the whole time. That's the wonderful thing about cul-de-sacs. "Don't play dumb, you know who it was." Nat snorted and gave Kevin a cheeky grin. "Yeah, but I wanna hear you say it." Kevin pushed Nat out of the way and walked into his house. "The dork was walking in the rain, I felt bad for him." The boys walked into the kitchen and as Kevin dug in the fridge for a couple sodas, Nat leaned against one of the counters and said "Yeah? Then what were you two talking about for so long?"

Kevin tossed a soda can to him and said "The dork told me that I smell nice and I blew him off." Nat cracked open his soda and gave Kevin another one of his famous smirks and said "Does someone have a crush?" Kevin quickly jerked his head in Nat's direction and quickly snapped "What?! No way, man! You're outta your mind. I mean, he's alright for a dork. But there's no way I would ever have a crush on a loser like him!" Nat tried to keep from bursting out laughing and said "I was talking about Double dweeb, not you..." Kevin immediately shut up and walked into the living room and flopped down on the couch.

Nat sat down beside him and as he lifted his soda up to his lips, he muttered just loud enough for Kevin to hear him. "Busted!" Kevin then put down his soda and said "That's it. Your ass is toast, bastard." Nat laughed as Kevin tackled him and the two wrestled around for quite some time in Kevin's living room.

Meanwhile over at Edd's house, Edd was putting clean dishes away and repeating what just happened outside in his mind. Oh, how embarrassing! Now Kevin had yet another piece of ammunition against him. He should have said thank you and gone about his business. Kevin would never let him forget it. Edd chastised himself "Oh, from this moment on, I will never speak another word to Kevin!"

Just then, the telephone rang. Edd quickly wiped his hands on a dish towel and went over to pick up the receiver. "Hello, this is Eddward." The voice on the other end greeted him "Double D, my little munchkin friend!" Edd's heart immediately warmed up. It was Ed! "Oh, Ed! It's so good to hear from you again. How are you doing? Are your grades okay? How is your school attendance? When is-" Ed cut him off by saying "I want to start swimming lessons for chickens, Double D."

At the stupidity of Ed's idea, Edd couldn't help but to smile to himself. He really did miss his friends. "Ed, that's ridiculous. Where are you going to get a chicken? Also, where would you give them swimming lessons?" Ed's voice seemed to glimmer with happiness. "Already ahead of you, Double D. I borrowed Rolf's chickens. They're at my house in my bathtub."

"…You WHAT?!"

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**I welcome any and all reviews, as well as CONSTRUCTIVE criticism of this story. :) If you like it, great! Happy to write for you! If you don't like it, tell me why and what I can do to make it better. Don't just say 'this is lame' and leave it at that. I delete those comments.**


	2. Chapter 2

After the fiasco of trying to collect 5 soaking wet chickens from Ed's bathroom and returning them to an angry Rolf, Edd was feeling much better about how he sat with Ed and Eddy. Edd had immediately hung up the phone and rushed through the evening autumn air over to Ed's to put a stop to the nonsense.

Eddy happened to be over there, waiting for Rolf to appear and was going to demand a quarter for each returned chicken. At first Eddy was hostile and was angered to see Edd appear, but trying to capture 5 fluttering, clucking wet masses of feathers has a way of bringing people together. Soon enough, the three amigos were reunited. Even though Kevin was Eddy's worst enemy, Eddy finally decided that he could understand Edd's wish to keep the peace.

It was bright and early the next morning. Double D had finished his morning routine and was going to go into the school an hour earlier than usual to read in the library. He found that between studying, chores, homework and hanging out with his friends, he almost never had time to sit down with a good book. The bus wouldn't come to pick up students for another 45 minutes, so Edd was set to walking that morning. For some reason, it didn't seem near as long walking to school that morning as it had walking home just yesterday afternoon. In no time, Edd was halfway to school, and walking past his friend Anna's house.

He looked over and saw Anna outside taking her dog to its pen and she caught sight of him and waved. Edd smiled at her and waved back, but didn't stop to chat. He had other things on his mind. For instance, he was wondering what he would do if Kevin caught him in the halls today. After all, Kevin was hall monitor and Edd didn't want to face him after yesterday. Even thinking about the situation today made Edd's stomach clench with embarrassment. But how could Kevin smell so good without cologne? It was beyond Edd.

These thoughts and more about the redheaded jock managed to carry Edd all the way to school. As he walked through the halls to his locker, he passed the gym and paused. He heard footsteps, the bouncing of balls, and other noise in the gym. It was more than one person, though. Edd stood in front of his locker, listening to the noise as he put his jacket away. He figured he might as well go see who was making the noise.

He walked the few feet over to the gym doors and paused. Then he reached out and as quickly as he could, pulled the door open. Public door handles were harbingers of germs and bacteria. As Edd walked around the bleachers further into the gym, he was surprised to see that it was Kevin, Nat and a few other basketball players in their basketball attire.

Edd was going to turn and just walk back out, but he found that he was mesmerized by Kevin's athletic skills. The way he moved across the floor while bouncing a ball was so fluid. The silk shorts and tank Kevin wore allowed Edd's eyes to see the toned muscles and tan skin of Kevin's body. Nat and another kid came at Kevin to try and get the ball, and the way Kevin whirled around them and leaned up to shoot the ball into the net was simply amazing. Edd envied his prowess and abilities. There wasn't an athletic bone in his body. However Kevin was all athlete and Edd found that he was creeping further into the gym, wanting a better view of Kevin's game.

He had never really talked to Kevin much anymore, though he would liked to have. They just never really met each other anymore, save for maybe once or twice when they were going home together. Edd liked those small moments though. He felt like Kevin actually cared about him in those moments, though he knew that the ginger probably didn't really.

Edd watched as the redheaded athlete high fived the couple players on his team and as the other team took the ball, one of the guys spotted Double D near the stands and pointed at him and shouted "Hey nerd, what the hell are you doing in here?!" Edd's eyes widened and he turned around and fled as all of the guys including Kevin and Nat turned to look at him.

Kevin watched Edd flee the gym and one of the guys called out "Faggot!" as the gym door was closing. Kevin turned to the guy and said "Hey. That's enough dude." The others snorted and said "Whatever, Kev. That guy is a nut job." Kevin glared at him and said "Yeah, well the kid has feelings too, y'know." The teams regrouped and the game started again. This time however Kevin couldn't take his mind off Edd. He always appeared at the oddest times. It was kind of cute in a way.

Kevin was so lost in thought that Nat managed to grab the ball from him at take it all the way to the basket. Kevin's teammates groaned and said "C'mon, Kev. We're trying to play here!" Kevin shook his head and said "Nah man. You can go ahead and play. I'm gonna hit the showers." With that he turned and headed to the locker rooms, leaving the other guys to stare after him.

As Kevin stripped and stepped into the warm shower he heard another guy come into the locker room. A small glint of hope crossed his heart, hoping it was Edd. This confused Kevin even more. He didn't care about a dork like Double dweeb, or at least he didn't think he did. However his thoughts were dashed when Nat's voice rose over the shower "You ran pretty quick, champ. You aight?"

Kevin ignored Nat and continued to think. He thought about all the times he'd been mean to Edd. Eddy and Ed, he didn't necessarily care about. He'd beat the crap out of Eddy in a heartbeat and he really didn't have much to do with Ed. But he started to regret beating up on Edd. All the kid wanted to do was try to get along with everyone. It really was Eddy's fault Edd ever got into trouble with the other kids most of the time.

Kevin never really took notice of the sock-headed Ed too much until all the cul-de-sac kids went into high school, and they all had gone through puberty and were beginning to grow up. His own body was beginning to cover itself in fiery red hair. A slight stubble was coming in across his chin and upper lip. Edd, however still looked rather pale, and Kevin could see no facial hair on him, however he really didn't know, since he only every looked at Edd from across the hall. According to Nazz, Edd didn't go by 'Double D' anymore unless it was by his friends. He actually preferred to be called Edd now, which was weird for Kevin.

He smirked to himself, the dork would always be Double dweeb to him, even if he changed his name completely. Another interesting feature was that Edd had also grown into his long, lanky body, now he didn't look like a bean pole on two tiny toothpick legs. Edd continued to wear shorts most of the time, and his legs were now much longer, those legs were nice legs.

'_Those legs were the same ones you nearly broke in 8__th__ grade._' Kevin squeezed his eyelids tightly shut and shook his head. He had to remind himself though, he was in a different crowd than that loser. He was the captain of the football and basketball teams, and he was almost guaranteed the same position this year on the baseball team. Edd was a dork who stayed in the library with the other few pale, skinny losers and those two he called his best friends. Kevin dated cheerleaders, went to parties, got whatever he wanted, Edd was nothing, a nobody, but that's not how Kevin wanted it to be for some reason.

The more he thought about Edd, the worse he felt. So Kevin shut the water off and stepped out to get redressed. Nat had already changed and left, so it was just him. Kevin knew he had a chance at lunch break and recess to talk to Edd, and he also had Literature with him. He figured he would just talk to Edd, see if he wanted to hang out sometime. He wanted to try and be a little nicer to the sockhead, even get to know him maybe.

As Kevin walked out of the gym and to his locker, someone came up and slapped him on the shoulder and greeted him "Morning, Kev!" Kevin looked and saw Nazz in all her beauty. He smiled and said "Sup Nazz?" She rolled her eyes and replied "Ughh I had to come in early and do extra credit for Cooking class. I gotta a D on my last project. Like, HOW can you fail a student for forgetting to put milk in a smoothie? Like, how do you judge whether a smoothie is right or wrong?!" Kevin smirked and pretended to listen, but really his eyes were scanning the hall for a sock-headed dork. As they came to Kevin's locker, Nazz smiled and hugged him and said "Well, gotta go. Catch ya later, Kev!"

All the while a pair of green eyes was watching them under a ski hat from behind, trying to stay out of sight of him and his fellow athletes.


	3. Chapter 3

**I made the end of this chapter a little sweeter. Just to help guide into the next chapters. :3**

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Soon enough the clocks on the walls all showed 7:55 and teenagers and adults alike started to pour in all of the doors of the school and crowded the halls, forming an ocean of different bodies and faces and boisterous noise of chatter, laughter, lockers slamming and other things, filled the air. When he wasn't with Eddy or Ed, it was extremely easy for Edd to become invisible in the mass of students. Not that he minded, it just meant that he could use the time between classes to organize himself, plus the bullies couldn't see him as easily.

Lucky for Edd, it was Government class and he shared it with his two best friends and also Anna, but she sat further away from them, so they didn't really get to talk all that much. Edd already had gotten his textbook out and opened it up and put out his notebook and pen on the desk by the time his friends groggily trudged in. Eddy collapsed into his seat and Ed sat down in his and yawned loudly. Edd watched them both with a smile and then merrily "Good morning, gentlemen! What a wonderful day, isn't?" He dodged a pencil half-heartedly thrown by Eddy and turned to look at Ed, who lay face down on his desk, drooling.

Edd tutted and said "For goodness sake, Ed! Don't drool everywhere, why that's unsanitary!" Just then, the wave of people came in the door just as the bell rang, signaling 8:00 and drowned out Edd's nagging. As everyone came in, Edd looked at each face. It was kind of a secret habit of Edd's to memorize all the people in his classes and count them to himself as they came him.

However before the teacher came into the classroom, he spotted his friend Anna slinking in the door and over to her chair. Eddy caught him watching the girl and narrowed his eyes at him, then at her. "Who's that chick, Double D?" Edd smiled and said "Oh that's Anna. She's a rather new friend of mine." Eddy smirked and said "Your girlfriend?" Edd snapped his attention to Eddy and said "Of course not! Where'd you get a silly idea like that?"

Eddy was too tired to keep up the paltry talking. He simply 'hmmed' and looked over at her then shrugged, turned around and crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, lifting his feet up onto his desk. Edd once again exclaimed about cleanliness, but Eddy didn't even so much as crack an eye open at him. The teacher then stood up in front of the class and began the lesson. Everything else began as just a normal classroom day, Eddy was relaxing in his spot, not even bothering to care about the lesson he was missing out on, on Edd's other side was Ed doodling monsters eating stick figures on his paper, and Edd was jotting down as many words that the teacher said as he could.

About 20 minutes into the class, Edd had just turned his page over to start a new page of notes when suddenly out of the blue; he had the urge to use the bathroom. _"Oh no!"_ Edd thought to himself. "_I've never had to leave the classroom to use the bathroom before. I can't afford to miss all this valuable information!"_ He looked down at his notebook, which was already filled with notes from the first 15 minutes of class.

He looked over at Eddy, who still had his feet up and was lightly snoozing. "Eddy!" Edd whispered "Psst, Eddy! Wake up." Eddy blinked a few times then said "Wake me up when the lesson's over." Edd shook his head and said "No! I need you to take notes for me. I have to use the restroom." Eddy snorted then said "Just go, sockhead. You'll be fine."

Edd tried to plead with him but Eddy ignored him and went back to sleep. Finally, Edd couldn't ignore his body anymore and he raised his hand and asked to go to the bathroom. The teacher called him forward to take the hall pass and told him to be quick. Edd didn't need to be told twice and was out the door.

The trip to the bathroom was rather uneventful, and even in the bathroom Edd was all by himself. Which was fine with him, he just wanted to get back to the lesson. However, after relieving himself, Edd was on his way back down the hall towards the classroom when he caught sight of someone else in the hall, standing by the water fountain. Nervous energy filled his senses when he realized that the person was Kevin, wearing the yellow hall monitor's sash around his body. Drat! He had forgotten that Kevin was still the hall monitor, even in high school! How could he be so ignorant?

Edd picked up his pace, figuring he'd just give Kevin a quick hello out of politeness, stop at his locker to grab a sanitary wipe for himself and get back to the classroom. Easier said than done. Kevin caught sight of him and straightened up, coming towards him. Edd pulled the hall pass out of his pocket and said "Greetings, Kevin. I trust you're having a good morning?" Kevin ignored the hall pass Edd tried to offer him, looked around the hall to make sure nobody was out and about, and replied "Yeah, sure. Walk with me." Kevin turned and started walking and Edd had no choice but to follow after him, knowing he would regret it if he didn't.

As they walked towards Edd's classroom Kevin cleared his throat and asked, "So…what's new?" Edd was taken aback, feeling very wary of the situation. However he was a chivalrous teen, so he replied, "Um, well most recently I've broken my own promise to never have to miss a lesson to use the lavatory."

Even Edd knew that Kevin couldn't care less about that sort of monotony. As they turned the corner to the Government room Kevin started again, "Hey listen. Do you wanna maybe, after school...hang out?" Edd was thrown off at first by such a bold question. Hang out…with Kevin? Did people even hang out anymore? Was this some kind of joke? Edd let out a nervous giggle and scratched his head. "Heh, that's a good one, Kevin. Very amusing"

Kevin seemed to get annoyed and said "I'm not playing with you, dor- uh, Double D. I'm serious." They stopped and stood in front of the Government room door for a moment, and Edd looked Kevin in the eyes. Surely he was teasing? He had never once shown any sort of interest in Edd before. Besides wouldn't the other athletes make fun of him?

Seeing that Kevin was waiting for an answer, Edd tilted his head slightly and asked, "Will Nathan or Nazz be there?" Kevin shook his head and said "Nah, just you and me." Edd smiled just enough to show off the gap in his top teeth and said "Well okay, I can accept your offer Kevin. However there is one condition I must ask of you." Kevin shoved his hands in his pockets and said "Alright shoot."

Edd inched closer to the door and said "It is important that I walk home today after school. You see, I have a friend who I always chat with at the end of the school day and I don't want to-" Once more he was cut off as Kevin wheeled around and said "Got it. See you when you get home, then." As he sauntered off, Edd waved at his back before turning and walking back into the classroom.

His two Ed friends were exactly as he left them and when he sat down and tried to concentrate on the teacher again, he felt that he was three chapters behind. Oh, the lost information… Edd continued as best that he could and when the bell rang that signaled the end of the class, his hopes of catching up was sunken.

When they exited, Eddy feigned shock and exclaimed "Sockhead, you were gone at least 5 minutes. I expected you back in 30 seconds. Think of all the stuff you missed out on!" Edd glared as Eddy and Ed laughed. "For your information _Eddy_, Kevin caught me in the hall." Ed jumped and said "Kevin?!" Eddy clapped his hands together and said "Oh boy. What'd he do? Throw your pass in the trash or something?" Edd scowled and said "No, he actually walked back to the classroom with me. He was…friendly!" Eddy raised an eyebrow and said "Don't screw with me, Double D." As they rounded the corner to their lockers Edd tried again. "I am absolutely serious, Eddy! He even asked me what was 'new' in my life."

Eddy outright laughed again and said "Don't get your hopes up, sockhead. You know Shovelchin will do anything to us to get a laugh. He probably had a camera hidden or something." Ed grinned at Edd and said "I drew a picture of you, Double D." He handed the crudely drawn picture of Edd being ripped apart by a space alien to Edd, who took it and put in on the shelf in his locker among all the other drawings Ed had given him. "Thank you, Ed."

Edd sighed; he knew trying to tell Eddy what happened would be a waste of valuable time. He opened his locker to put away his English book and pull out his math book. He found that he was actually looking forward to after school. He was excited to hang out with Kevin, even at the risk of him looking like a fool. As he was walking away, Eddy came to his side and said, "Shovelchin oughta know by now, if he wants one of us Eds, he gets all of us."

Edd looked at him, "What do you mean?" Eddy jerked his head over across the hall in Kevin's direction, who was standing among his large group of friends, not even aware of the Eds existence at the moment. "I don't trust Shovelchin talking to one of us alone, especially you. I know how those jerks do their thing. If Shovelchin wants to see you, then he's gonna see me and Ed, too."

Edd nodded silently, he knew what Eddy meant. Last year Eddy was mostly the victim of the jocks' wrath. Eddy would get caught away from him and big Ed and faced the torment alone, much like Edd did this year. "I assure you, Eddy. You don't need to be around Kevin and I. If he were going to do something to me, you know I'd run away." Eddy merely grumbled in response as they parted to go off to class.

When the clock finally struck 3:00, Edd was giddy with excitement. He quickly ran to his locker and grabbed his jacket and made for the front doors, where he quickly put it on and waited in anticipation for Anna to get there. When she did, Edd practically dragged her down the street, unable to control his excitement. He told her all about his day, watching Kevin that morning at practice and up to Kevin inviting him over to his house. Anna smirked and said, "Sounds great, Edd. What are you going to do there?" Edd had no idea, he just knew that he was making another new friend. However Eddy's words from earlier rang in his ear still, and it made him slow down a bit. Surely if Kevin were going to do something malicious to him, they wouldn't be alone at his house.

As they continued down the street Anna broke the laconism, "So, do you like this guy?" Edd listened to her, and thought about the question. All the things Kevin used to do to him and his friends still burned in the back of his mind, yes. Part of him was still slightly uncomfortable with being around Kevin, even if they were alone. _Especially_ if they were alone. However most of him was eager to befriend the popular jock. "He is just an acquaintance. However I'm excited to see what it is like being his friend for once. He's always been the antagonist of my friends and myself. However even back then, I have always admired him." Anna smiled but said no more.

Soon Edd found himself walking alone, with the cul-de-sac in his view. He was so deep in his excitement and talking to his friend that he never saw the yellow bus or even Kevin on his bicycle go past. But when Double D got to the circle of houses, he could plainly see Kevin waiting outside for him. Edd went directly over to him and the jock nodded at him. "Hey." Edd smiled and said "Greetings, Kevin."

Kevin put his bike up and led the other into his house. Edd stopped to take off his jacket and bag, but realized he had no place to put them. Kevin was taking his hat off and putting it on a hook by the door and looked back. "Just go put them in my room." Edd stayed put and looked at him. Kevin then realized that Edd had never been in any part of his house except for the bathroom one time, which was an accident, and responded, "Oh, here. You can chill on the couch or something."

Edd walked over to the couch and looked at the spot where he was going to sit. It looked clean enough, so Edd turned and sat down. When Kevin reappeared his hair was rather mussed like he had been running his hand through it, and he had two video game controllers. He tossed one to Edd, which hit him square in the chest. Kevin smirked and bit back a laugh.

He walked into the other room to grab them some drinks and as he did, he called "So, can I ask you something?" Edd immediately responded "Of course!" Kevin reappeared a moment later with a soda can and a bottle of water. He handed Edd the water and asked "Why do you always wear your hat?"

Edd immediately became uncomfortable with the question and obviously showed it. He bounced his legs and tapped his fingers on the couch and said "Uh, well. I can tell you that what is under it is not attractive at all."

Kevin then sat down next to the sockhead and opened his soda and said "So?" Edd looked around and continued "Well, there is a rather large laceration on one side of my head. In fact, most of the right side of my head was lacerated. It happened a long time ago when I was very small, and even after all these years I am never able to grow hair in that area." Kevin was surprised. He knew that Edd hid something under his hat, but his first thought wasn't a scar. Maybe a huge growth or maybe part of his brain stuck out of his head, but a scar? Wicked.

He put his can down and reached out to his hat. "Cool, can I see it?" Edd shifted backwards, reaching up to grab the sides of his hat and squeaked, "W-Well, maybe another time. It rather disturbing." Kevin nodded and said, "That's cool, man. Whenever you wanna show me." Edd looked over and asked him, "Really?" Eddy and Ed never gave him that option when they first asked. After Edd had told them no, Eddy just had Ed forced his hands away from his head as the shortest Ed ripped off the hat.

Kevin nodded and continued on. "Pick a game." Edd looked over to the games. He then inched over to the console where they all were. _Major League Baseball_? _Dead or Alive_? _Halo_? _What are these ridiculous games?_ Edd looked and looked, never having actually played a video game before. Kevin's impatience overcame his gentleness and he growled at him, "Hurry up, Double dweeb."

Edd's eyes stumbled over the games until finally he just picked one based on the cover art. Kevin snatched it from him and glanced at it "Resident Evil, dork? I didn't know you liked these kinds of games." Kevin quickly popped it in the console and started it up.

Edd was never more regretful of anything in his life. Already 5 minutes into the game and Kevin had destroyed him at least 8 or 9 times. Edd hadn't even time to learn how to control his character, whom had just been pegged down again by Kevin's rifle. Edd let out a groan of frustration and exclaimed "This game is in no way shape or form, fair to those who have never played it!"

Kevin laughed and paused the game "What's wrong, dork?" Edd was fuming. "What's _wrong? _I'll tell you what's wrong! I've been invited over to the house of a meathead who throws a game controller at my chest, tells _me_ to choose the videogame we're going to play, then cannot wait _five seconds_ until I've learned enough controls to protect myself! And another thing-"

Kevin just bit his lip the whole time to keep from laughing in his face. It was so funny when Sockhead blew up. Edd took notice of Kevin's face, which was screwed up and contorted, and he stopped and bellowed, "_AM I AMUSING YOU, KEVIN_?!" Kevin shook his head then straightened up, turned and quit the current game, then said "Alright princess. We'll start over. This time you're going to do it yourself." Edd was furious "_Princess_?!"

Kevin then handed him the first person controller. Edd looked down at the controller, then at the game, which was now single player. His rage melted away and he looked at Kevin and asked, "What's going on?" Kevin smirked and scooted closer to Edd and said "You're gonna do it yourself, I'll help you." Edd tried to back out, but Kevin wouldn't allow it. So Edd turned and faced the game, and started randomly pushing control buttons, trying to figure it out.

Sure enough after about 20 minutes, with Kevin coaching him, he was finally able to maneuver his character around corners, aim his gun at the enemies and fire. Whether he actually hit them or not was another thing in itself. It was most interesting how Edd had never played a video game like this before, and now he almost never wanted to stop. Even though Kevin coached him roughly, a few curses and harsh words, the fact that he was teaching him how to play was enough for Edd.

His train of thought was broken when Kevin's voice rang out, "Alright, be careful on this part, the wolves will jump out at you around the corner…" Sure enough, Edd was attacked a moment later, and instead of fighting back, he just yelped. He heard Kevin sigh beside him and shift, but without warning, Kevin had leaned in against Edd's back, brought his arms around Edd and put his hands over Edd's on the controller.

Edd froze to the spot. He had never been this close to anyone before, not even Ed or Eddy. Did Kevin even realize what he was doing? Edd let his fingers grasp the sides of the controller and let Kevin take over. Edd watched his character fight off the wolves and continue on. Kevin's hands were not even sweaty like his own. His hands were warm and soft. Edd breathed in slowly, with Kevin being so close, he could smell that wonderful musky scent. Kevin only looked at the game. What would have taken him an hour or more took Kevin about 5 minutes. Soon the level was complete.

Edd then chose to speak "Uh…Kevin?" Kevin immediately moved away from Edd, his face somewhat pink. Edd could feel his own blood rushing to his face. He quickly looked around for a clock. He'd been over at Kevin's for an hour and a half. He laughed nervously and said "Well…maybe I should go?" Kevin shrugged but as Edd stood up to leave he called out "Hey dork." Edd looked at him and he smiled and said coolly "You smell pretty good, too." Edd paused, then a grin spread across his face. Kevin stood up and said "I'll walk you to the door." Edd said "Oh, you don't have to do that, Kevin." Kevin kept that cool smile on his face and said "Yeah, but it's the proper thing to do." Kevin ran upstairs to quickly grab Edd's stuff, then headed back down to the door.

At the door, Kevin and Edd stood together as Edd put his bag over his shoulder. Kevin told him "See ya, Double dork." Unable to contain himself, Edd turned around and quickly hugged Kevin. It was Kevin's turned to be shocked, but he didn't push the other away as he would have in middle school. Middle school grudges meant nothing, even their completely different statuses in the school meant nothing at this point. As aggressive as he was, Kevin felt the cold part of his heart where he had held Edd for so long melt. His hard face softened into a tiny smile and he wrapped his arm around Edd's shoulders.

For some reason, this was what he wanted. He had held Nazz and various other cheerleaders like this before and while it was warm and accepted, Kevin felt that this was way better. The moment was brief but sweet, and as Edd pulled away he said "See you at school tomorrow, Kevin!" Kevin turned and closed the door, but watched through the window with a smirk as Edd hustled across the street to his own house.

Edd was positively radiating happiness. As unusual as that interaction was, Edd was glad that Kevin wasn't pushing him away. He liked this side of Kevin. This Kevin didn't strike fear in him, instead he felt rather protected in a way. Tomorrow was Friday, and then the weekend. He would have a lot more time to possibly hang out with Kevin, and he surely couldn't wait for it to come.


	4. Chapter 4

It was Friday morning about 11:00, almost lunch time. For Edd, this was the hour he spent aiding the school nurse. Today he was making copies of a flyer for the nurse that had information about the common cold and the flu. Of course Edd knew everything about both illnesses by heart, and even took the liberty of proofreading the flyer to make sure it was correct. His job for the nurse was to go around to each classroom and lay a flyer on every teacher's desk.

One thing that stuck in his mind was the time he spent with Kevin last night. He thoroughly enjoyed the company and to his surprise, found that he liked being so close to Kevin. Usually he wanted people to respect his personal space, but Kevin had caught him off guard last night and when Edd realized what was happening, he really didn't care enough to tell him to back off.

He heard the beep of the copy machine finishing the last page and Edd grabbed the warm papers from the tray and with the stack in hand, he began his trip around the school. His first job was to pin a flyer to every bulletin board in the halls. He quickly pinned a couple to the board beside the nurse's office. All the while he was humming to himself in a cheerful way.

Delivering flyers to each classroom wasn't too difficult while his head was filled with thoughts of being with Kevin. He didn't even care when people turned and stared at him as he entered each room to lay a flyer down at each teacher's desk. After making his way to all of the classrooms on the first floor, all that remained was the P.E. teacher's office, which was in the gym.

This class had Edd nervous to go in. Being as Edd already had two years of P.E. and was going to take Health next semester, it wasn't required that he take P.E. and so naturally, he chose not to. The P.E. teacher on the other hand didn't think that students so young should have the choice and every student that chose not to take it was often tormented by the teacher. This included Edd and that's why he wasn't really thrilled to go deliver this flyer.

Edd stopped outside the doors and listened. He could hear shoes squeaking and running across the floor and the teacher's loud voice was booming at random students. When the noise quieted down some, Edd took a deep breath, then pulled open one of the doors and went in. Upon entering, Edd was immediately greeted by the sight of many muscular looking boys his age dressed in either blue or red plastic vests, scrambling across the floor with plastic hockey sticks in hand, chasing a small black ball.

The teacher didn't notice Edd when he came in, he was too busy shouting at the boys on the red team. As he walked along the wall past the blue team's goal, he noticed Kevin among the group. He almost didn't at first, because Kevin wasn't wearing his usual hat. Edd just noticed his ginger hair and the long three strands of his bangs that defied gravity. He was on the red team, and he was fighting for the black ball. Edd slowed his walking down to watch Kevin and silently cheer him on.

The blue goalie took notice of him and hissed "Yo, Double dweeb." Edd looked over and recognized the blue goalie as Nat. "Salutations, Nat!" Nat shook his head and hissed "Yeah yeah. What are you doing in here?" Edd raised his flyers to show Nat "I'm bringing good knowledge to your gym teacher. It is almost flu season, and everyone needs to be prepared!" Nat looked back to see Kevin coming at him with the black ball and said "Whatever, just put the flyer down and go before the teacher sees you." Edd followed along the wall, away from the group and quickly opened the door to the teacher's office and placed a flyer down on the desk.

As he went back out of the office, the teacher was standing right by the door and Edd smacked right into him and tilted his head up and looked the man in the eyes. "Oh dear…" The man grinned and said "Lookie here, boys! We got a new goalie for the red team." The whole class, save for Kevin and Nat started grinning maliciously and laughing. Edd back away from the teacher and said "Oh I really mustn't. I've got all these flyers to hand out and I haven't even begun yet." The teacher shook his head and said "Don't worry about it, Elliot. The boys here will help you pass out your little pamphlets after a game or two." Edd raised his finger and said "That's…Eddward."

Before he could try to make another attempt to escape, the teacher had slapped a red vest on him and stuck him in the goalie position. Edd looked over at Kevin, who was in the center, facing the blue leader and getting ready to scrimmage for the ball. The red-headed jock glanced over and made eye contact with Edd. The sock-headed Ed tried to plead with Kevin for help, but the teacher blew his whistle and Kevin had to start playing.

Edd held his hockey stick tightly with fear. Luckily Kevin had grabbed the ball and taken it to the other side of the gym. It's not that Edd feared the sport itself; it was the fear that the other boys on the team would pummel him mercilessly if he failed to stop the ball from making it into the goal that was making him shake like a leaf. He tried to study Nat from the distance to see how Nat managed to stop the ball. However Nat was at least 10 times more athletic than himself, maybe even slightly more than Kevin. Nat could easily smack the ball backwards _and_ fight off an offender.

Kevin tried to shoot it past Nat, but the teal-headed kid was too quick and managed to smack it back and over to a blue member. Kevin cursed himself. He was trying to hold the ball over in blue territory to keep Edd from looking like a total idiot, but Nat didn't seem to get that. The ball was now in the blue team's possession and the group slowly scuffled closer and closer towards Edd, who sat there gripping his hockey stick like it was his lifeline.

The ball shot out to Edd, who tried to take his best swing at it, but missed it and the ball went right between his legs and into the goal. The red team booed and hissed at him while the blue team howled with laughter, and Kevin just looked at him worriedly. Edd sighed and decided that once was enough. A couple larger guys on the red team came up to him. One smacked him across the back and the other shoved him and said "Way to go loser."

As he walked off the court, the teacher shouted "ELLIOT. What was that?! You didn't even try!" Edd scowled and said "That was my best attempt to play a sport I've had almost no knowledge of." He quickly gathered the flyers up off the ground and turned to walk out the door. As he was walking, he chanced a glance back out across the court to find everyone staring after him, some calling names and others just laughing. Kevin was looking really uncomfortable himself as he looked Edd back in the eyes. Edd shook his head and exited the gym. The clock in the hall showed that lunch was in five minutes so Edd decided that he would finish delivering flyers after lunch and recess.

After Edd had put the flyers back in the nurse's office, he was walking down the hall to get his jacket out of his locker when he spotted something on his locker door. As he neared, he could make out words. He grumbled to himself about how messy the students of the school were and came to his locker to read it. It was a four letter word and a drawing and it struck pure terror in Eddward's heart.

**_HOMO_**

That's what was written in big black letters across his locker, with a crude drawing of a male lower extremity underneath it. Edd bit his lip and quickly opened his locker and pulled out a spray bottle and a piece of paper towel. Though he got most of the ink to come off, there was still a faint outline of both on his locker.

Edd sighed and put the stuff away. At least nobody could see it at a glance. He felt so rejected in that moment. He pulled his cardigan over his body and as he turned to walk to the cafeteria, he faced two rather large kids. He recognized them as the kids that smacked his shoulders in the gym merely minutes ago. They glared at him and one of them reached up his hand. Edd flinched, thinking it would go to his face, but instead it came down hard against the locker by his head.

They glared at him cruelly and the one spoke "Listen here, you little fag. We know why you were really in the gym." Edd looked up at him and said "Really? You do?" The bully ignored him and said "You've been making googley eyes at Kevin." Edd backed up until his back hit his locker. The other that hadn't spoken yet growled "You better back off Kevin. He's our team captain. For every sport. And besides that, Nazz is his girlfriend." Edd knew that Nazz wasn't Kevin's girlfriend, even if he wanted her to be. It was just a lie to protect Kevin.

"We don't need a little piece of shit like you coming up and bothering him. So we're gonna give you a little reminder to stay away from us." He stared at the two, shaking slightly as one grabbed him by the shirt and the other advanced, cracking his knuckles.

* * *

Ed and Eddy stood at the door of the cafeteria waiting for Edd to show up. It was 10 minutes past, and even the kids that were in gym class and had to change before lunch were already in line. As two more guys filed in the room, Eddy sighed and said "Guess he's not coming. C'mon Ed." Edd looked at Eddy, then back down the hall and said "But Double D won't get to eat!" Eddy grabbed Ed by his green jacket and pulled him over to the lunch line. He budged his way into the line and an angry voice said "Back of the line, losers." Eddy had cut his and Ed's way in between Kevin and Nazz and everyone knew that that was a no-no.

Eddy yawned and said "It's a free country." Nazz glared and said "Go to the back of the line, Eddy." It was apparent that Eddy was not going to move, and Ed just stood there stone silent. Kevin pulled up the sleeves of his shirt and said "Alright you asked for it." As Eddy and Kevin were starting to face off, another person came in and cut in between them. Kevin groaned loudly and said "WHAT is everyone's DEAL today?!"

The third person turned out to be Edd's friend Anna. She looked at the Eds and at Kevin and said "I'm sorry. I just need to grab a to-go bag. My friend's in the nurse's office and I'm bringing him lunch." Kevin glared at her and snarled, "Boo-hoo, go to the end and wait like everyone else." Before Anna turned to head back, Eddy then exclaimed "Wait! You're that one girl Double D likes! Aren't you his girlfriend or something?" All three boys and Nazz looked at her and she huffed and said "Not his _girlfriend_. Just his friend, and yes that's who I need to get a to-go bag for." Ed then asked innocently, "Why is Double D in the nurse's office?" Eddy rolled his eyes and said, "Probably organizing crap again."

Anna shook her head and said "No, actually Edd's been hurt." The others all leaned in and Nazz asked "What happened to Double D?" Anna shrugged her shoulders and said "I was in the nurse's looking for him when he came in behind me holding his face." They all listened to her intently. "I asked him what happened and he said two guys from gym class cornered him and beat him up." Nazz gasped and covered her mouth, whispering '_Oh God_.' Eddy and Ed stared unblinking at her.

Kevin's eyebrows crunched into a deep glare and he asked, "How bad's he been hurt?" Anna shook her head and said "He wouldn't let me help him. All I saw was a black eye and a busted lip. He wouldn't let me get close enough to see the rest of his wounds. So I asked him if he wanted me to get him lunch and he said yes."

The group finally let her through to grab Edd's lunch. Eddy told Anna to tell Edd that they would be in to see him during their after-lunch break. As Anna was walking out, a hand roughly grabbed her arm. She turned to face who it was and found a steaming Kevin. He looked down at her and said sternly "I'm going with you." Anna immediately understood and nodded.

In the nurse's, Edd was on the white hospital bed, leaning back against the wall with a tear-stained face. He was dressed in spare, clean clothes, his old and now torn clothes were in a plastic sack on the floor. Now that he had the office to himself, his hat rested on the table beside him. The nurse had told him to lie down with an ice pack while she went to the front office to phone his parents and notify the principal. The curtain was drawn around him so that he could get his rest peacefully.

He heard the office door opening and knew that it was Anna bringing back his lunch. He felt bad for rejecting her help, but he was so ashamed of what had happened. When he came into the office covering his face, not only was he covering a black eye, he was covering the tears that ran down his face. He didn't want her to have to see all that was done to him. As he sat up, he grabbed his hat, but was not quick enough to put it on his head as the curtains pulled back in a rush. Edd gasped and shrank back against the wall when he locked eyes with not Anna, but Kevin.


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing that caught Kevin's eyes was the lack of a hat covering Edd's head. He could see for himself that huge scar that ran up the left side of his head. Edd quickly realized what he was looking at, and threw his hat over his head and sat there, eyes on Kevin's face, shaking horribly. Kevin looked at the poor kid's face and immediately could see that one of Edd's eyes had been hit and was completely purple and swollen shut. His bottom lip was also swollen and bloodied on one side.

Kevin non-too-gently tossed Edd's lunch down on the table and moved to sit down on the edge of the bed. Edd curled his legs up sat against the wall in a pathetic ball. Kevin shoved his hands in the pocket of his hoodie and stared straight forward at the wall. He really had no idea what to say because up until two days ago, he was the one who would do this crap to Edd and his friends, and would even laugh about it. Now that Edd was more than just an annoyance it actually hurt him now.

He glanced up at Edd, who still sat in a quivering mess staring at him through glassy eyes. Kevin didn't see clearly at first, all he saw was the injuries _he_ caused Edd in the past. He chewed on his lip and turned away again. Neither of them spoke a single word for a few minutes until finally Kevin asked in a dark tone, "It was those two guys that hit you in gym class, wasn't it?"

Edd didn't respond right away, but after a minute he mumbled, "It's nothing new to me, Kevin. I get treated like this all the time. One more beating isn't going to change me." Kevin snapped his head up at Edd and growled, "Nothing? Did you say it's _nothing_?! Look at yourself, Double dork! This isn't _nothing_. You're a fucking mess."

Edd closed his eyes and turned his head away from Kevin. The athlete sighed and reached up to rub the back of his neck, trying to calm down. After a minute, he said, "Let me see what they did." Edd shook his head and replied, "N-No, it's quite alright Kevin." Kevin moved to face him and told him firmly, "It wasn't a question." So slowly but surely Edd let his legs relax on the bed and he sat there silent before the angry jock.

Kevin looked at every cut and every bruise on Edd's face, neck and arms. The kid was wearing a plain white t-shirt and a pair of gray slacks, so whatever else they had done to him was hidden from Kevin's view. As Kevin kept looking over the kid, he noticed that Edd was trying to keep his left arm underneath himself and out of his view. His eyebrows furrowed and he reached out towards Edd's wrist. Immediately Edd turned his body and blocked Kevin's outstretched hand and said "D-Don't worry about me, Kevin. I'll be fine."

Kevin shook his head and said in a firm voice, "Give me your arm, Edd." At the use of his real name, Edd looked at Kevin. This was the first time Kevin ever used his name. After a moment, he sighed and did as he was told. Kevin roughly took Edd's arm in his hands and looked at it, yearning a slight whimper. Edd's wrist was a little swollen; obviously one of those two bastards was holding him by them. As his eyes travelled upwards, he caught sight of something hidden just under the sleeve of Edd's t-shirt and fear gripped his mind.

Reaching up, Kevin took hold of the sleeve, and Edd's other hand flew up to cover his to try and hold him back. Kevin looked up and at Edd, whose purple eye had opened slightly, and his other eyes was still glassy from crying. Without speaking, Edd knew exactly what Kevin was going to say if he didn't let go, and so slowly, Edd released Kevin's hand. Kevin pulled the sleeve up and his eyes widened and a slight gasp escaped his lips. There, on Edd's underarm stretching all the way from his shoulder to the underside of his elbow in black marker the word _FAGGOT_ read clearly.

Kevin paled, and let go of Edd completely. He leaned backwards and looked at Edd, who had begun to cry once more. Kevin growled to himself and thought some more. He had basketball practice after school with those two guys and if they even dared to show up, he would skin them alive. Kevin shook with anger at the boys and at himself, and he balled his hand tightly. Angrily he gave a loud roar and laid his fist into the cinderblock wall beside the bed, chipping a large piece of white paint off.

Edd yelped and brought his hands to his face to protect himself. Kevin shook his now-throbbing knuckles and reached over to take Edd by the wrists. He didn't want that feeling of domination. He didn't want to feel like he could overpower Edd, instead he wanted that feeling from last night, when Edd had hugged him. That feeling that somebody _needed_ him, that Edd needed him.

Edd flinched as Kevin pulled his wrists from his face, but instead of yelling or shaking him, he found that Kevin was pulling him towards his body. Edd slightly stiffened up as Kevin brought his arms around him and rested one hand on the back of his head, and the other around his back. Kevin rested Edd's head on his shoulder and held him. Edd relaxed and threw his arms around Kevin gratefully.

Kevin felt Edd sigh against him and squeezed him lightly. Kevin felt so guilty, not just because of himself, but because he knew something was up from that moment in gym when they had slapped Edd across the back and called him a loser. He should have just called them out for stepping out of line, regardless of what the teacher would have said.

He also knew that those two guys were tough on the nerds and outcasts, but when it came to practice time, they were total ass-kissers. Though he disliked how the other jocks acted, Kevin had to remind himself though, he was one of them. In fact the other athletes considered him their leader, not just in their sports, but in general Kevin was the top dog. Kevin snorted to himself _'Some leader._' He slowly pulled back away and looked at Edd once more.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Kevin opened his mouth and began, "This ain't right, man. I am _not_ going to allow the guys on _my team_ to treat you, or anyone else this way. I'm going to fix this." Edd didn't even try to object, only sniffled a bit and nodded his head. Kevin glanced down at Edd's pink lips before he looked back in his eyes. If hugging Edd could cause such a reaction in him, then what could a kiss do? He wanted to know so badly.

Kevin adjusted his body a little bit; making sure the back of Edd's head was still cradled in his hand. He knew that if he moved too slowly, Edd would catch on and try to stop him, so he turned to Edd a little bit and took a breath before he quickly leaned in and kissed the shaking boy full on the mouth.

Edd was completely stunned. Kevin _kissed him_! That was an act that anyone would consider deplorable. Even _he_ would consider it deplorable if he were in his right state of mind. Those kinds of things were better left in the heart and not actually done.

Edd tried to pull back slightly, but the hand on his head kept him there. Though he was completely against this, he didn't try to fight it off too much. He felt rather vulnerable up until right now, and that feeling Kevin always gave him returned even stronger. That feeling that Kevin could protect him from anything and it was just wonderful. By now his shakes were completely gone. Although his brain thought that what Kevin was doing was inappropriate, his heart whispered to him that this was right and not to fight it. So gradually, Edd's one good eye shut and he slipped away in the kiss. He had no idea that this was how Kevin felt about him. As Kevin deepened the kiss slightly, Edd felt his heart warm up, and for once, germs and cleanliness didn't even cross Edd's mind.

Kevin felt Edd relax in his arms and his heart fluttered a bit. He was sure that Edd would have pushed him away. He was glad to know that he was wrong. The kiss remained light and gentle, as Kevin didn't want to push too hard and scare Edd away, especially in the state he was in. Soon enough though, they had to pull apart for air. Edd pushed his forehead against Kevin's, which elicited a smile out of the latter. The sockhead was really cute when he wanted to be.

Edd looked at Kevin's smiling face and couldn't help but smile in return. For a moment they sat there, but Kevin finally pulled away and said "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you walk away alone." Edd shook his head and replied "You have done nothing wrong, Kevin. Just as I said before, this is not new to me." Kevin's face hardened a little and he said "Yes, but it _shouldn't_ be a regular thing, either." Kevin closed his eyes and thought to himself '_I can't stand to see you hurting like this._'

He stood from the bed suddenly. He reached down and took one of Edd's hands and said "I can't make people stop doing what they do behind my back. So I will just have to do a better job of being around you. So I can protect you."

Edd's heart nearly beat out of his chest. Hearing Kevin say those words meant the world to him. However one thing still bothered him. "Kevin, surely they'll turn on you if you're seen with me. I can't let you risk getting hurt on my account." Kevin shook his head and cracked his knuckles. "No worries, I can easily take five of those dumbshits on my own. I also have Nat if things are looking bad." Edd's face went blank and his eyes cast downward as he got lost in thought.

He was slightly shocked when he felt Kevin's fingers lift his chin and brought his face up to look at Kevin's, which was much closer now. Kevin gave him his usual smirk and said "Hey, you're gonna be okay." He leaned in and quickly kissed Edd's purple eye then pulled back and straightened up. "Why don't you come to practice after school with me? We'll settle the score there."

Edd raised his eyebrows and exclaimed "I couldn't possibly! Not only would those ruffians do their best to degrade me and cause bodily injuries, if you tried to stand up to them, who knows what they would do!" Kevin shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and said "Hey, didn't you hear anything I said earlier? I can handle my own team. If they even tried to make a move in your direction, I'd waste them." Edd knew he could say nothing to get himself out of the situation, so he heaved a sigh and said "Alright, I accept your request." Kevin smiled down at him and said "You'll be fine, dork."

Just then the door flew open and in strolled Eddy and Ed. "Sockhead! We heard what happened. You got your ass handed to you, huh?" Eddy's eyes then focused on Kevin, who was standing there scowling at him. "What's _HE_ doing here?!" Kevin scoffed and said "Don't worry about it, loser. I was just leaving." With that he strode forward and shoved his way past the two, but before he left completely, he turned and looked at Edd and said "Don't forget, after school Double Dweeb." Then Kevin was gone.

Eddy rounded on Edd "What's that about, huh? What are you and Shovelchin up to?" Edd knew he had to think of something quick, otherwise he'd be in bigger trouble. "Um, Kevin needs help with his homework, Eddy. I told him I'd be obliged to help him after sch-" Eddy cut him off and flopped down in a chair by the bed. "Yeah right, Shovelchin asked YOU for help? Is he trying to get a migraine so he doesn't have to show up for practice or something?"

Edd ignored Eddy's biting words and reached over to grab the lunch Kevin brought. As he did, he happened to look out the window on the door and see Anna standing out there, smiling at him. When she saw that he was looking at her, she grinned and gave him a thumbs up, then walked away. Edd smiled after her, he knew she'd sent Kevin in her place. He'd have to remember to thank her for that.

Kevin strolled down the hall with his hands still in his pockets. His face was slightly flushed as he thought of what just took place in the nurse's office. Thank God he had a good sense of timing. If he had continued to do anything with Edd and those two losers he hung out had showed up, Kevin was afraid Edd would have had to watch him beat the shit out of them first. His initial thought was to go after those two punks right then. However he knew that they needed to know who they were never to mess with again, so it would have to wait until practice.

He passed by the cafeteria and glanced in. Nobody left in there that he could talk to, so he continued on. He had a little bit of time left before the bell would ring and signal the 1:00 class period, so he started to head outside to recess and see if he could find Nat or Rolf. He knew that Rolf had nothing personal against Edd and also that Rolf was a pretty tough guy. There were countless times he'd helped Kevin beat the crap out of Eddy, or when he had just beaten Eddy up by himself. If Nat couldn't help him, he could trust that Rolf would help him.

However he didn't have to keep searching for Rolf because as he stepped through the doors of the school and into the open, he immediately spotted Nat and Nazz sitting at a picnic table under the tree near the entrance. He called out to Nat telling him to come, and he bid Nazz goodbye and headed over to Kevin. "Sup, chief?" Kevin scanned the blacktop and right away, he spotted the two guys that had a death wish hanging out by the trash cans. He turned back to Nat and replied "I need a favor."

Nat nodded slowly and said "Alright, what's that?" Kevin explained what had been done to Edd and all the things that he and Edd had talked about while Kevin was visiting him. Nat listened intently and didn't interrupt once. After the ginger had finished his story, Nat was silent and thinking for a moment. Then finally he said "So what? You gonna need me to help hide a body or something?" Kevin shook his head and replied "Nah, that's if they do it again, bro." Nat smirked at Kevin continued. "I just need you to get my back in case the whole team is against me. Like I always tell 'em, I can take their sorry asses out, but I don't think I can handle all of them at the same time if that were the case." The teal-headed boy nodded and gave Kevin a thumbs up and a grin, and said "Don't worry, dude. I got your back. Nobody's gonna mess with the captain's boy."


	6. Chapter 6

Edd stayed in the nurse's office the rest of the afternoon. His parents were not able to come to the school to pick him up due to a constant business trip they were always on. So they had told the nurse that they gave him permission to stay in her office and help her tend to things instead of going back to the classroom. Not that he minded though, he enjoyed the time he could spend among the cold medical instruments and files upon files of student health records.

When the clock struck 1:55 and the bell rang to let students out of class, Edd was in the middle of putting updated student records into their appropriate files. As he was placing the pages in each file, he came across Kevin's health file. Edd knew better than to go snooping through Kevin's personal things again, as his friends had so long ago, even though the curiosity gnawed at him. As he was reaching up to the top shelf to put away the file, some of the pages slide out of the manila folder and scattered about across the floor.

The sock-headed Ed groaned in frustration and set his armful of files down on the neatly-made hospital bed. Edd's knees were both swollen and painful from being kicked in just this morning, so he couldn't kneel down and collect all the pages, instead he had to bend over and gather them one by one. As he was doing this task, he heard the door of the office open up and for a moment the loudness of children in the halls flooded the room, then the door was shut.

Edd straightened up and turned to find Kevin standing in the door. He smiled brightly, the gap in his teeth showing off, and said "Kevin, good to see you." Kevin stepped away from the door as Edd crossed the room with a very slight limp and came over to wrap his arms around the boy's shoulders in a warm hug. Kevin's warmth made him tingle and grow fuzzy, a rather new feeling to him. He would have very much liked it if Kevin could have just stayed in the office with him that afternoon.

Kevin returned his embrace and rubbed Edd's back gently. Pulling away slightly, he rested his forehead against the injured boy's and said, "Hey dork, how ya feeling?" Edd smiled and looked into deep blue eyes. He found that there was no malice reflected in Kevin's eyes, no mischief or viciousness, only happiness as he replied, "I am sore, but quite alright Kevin. Thank you for your concern." Kevin looked over at the area Edd was just bending over in and asked, "What were you doing?" Edd pulled away and turned back to the mess and said "I was trying to file away student records and one of the files spilt all over the floor. Yours, actually, was the one that spilled."

Kevin smirked and said "Oh really?" Edd hummed in agreement and set about gathering pages again. "Kevin, shouldn't you be getting your books and notes for Literature? We have that class in 5 minutes." Kevin was stooped down and helped Edd gather the papers and said, "Notes are for dorks. I wanted to come see you." Edd's face flushed slightly as they both straightened up and he said, "Oh, that wasn't necessary Kevin. I am quite alright here, I can assur-" Once more Edd was cut off before he could finish, as Kevin's slightly chapped lips met his in a gentle kiss. If Edd was blushing a moment ago, his face was completely red now. He still wasn't quite sure that this was appropriate. Boys kissed girls, not other boys. His mouth parted slightly against Kevin's to protest, and that was all it took for Kevin to slip his tongue into the other's mouth.

This wasn't Edd's first kiss, every time Marie Kanker saw him; she tried to force her tongue down his throat. However this time, Edd was not totally disgusted or terrified. Instead of chills, electricity ran down his spine. However, the taste wasn't at all like a fairytale kiss. It didn't taste wonderful like strawberries or anything. In fact it didn't really taste all that well to be honest, but Kevin's tongue on his own felt amazing and that's all Edd needed to say that it was a wonderful kiss.

Kevin's tongue danced around his mouth, and Edd tried to mimic him, but he had never kissed anyone back like this before. Kevin leaned into him and deepened the kiss. It was obvious Kevin was filled with need in that moment, and Edd was happy to give him what he could. Kevin's arms encircled his waist and tightened as if to let him know that he had no designs to let Edd go.

They continued to kiss until Edd's lungs nearly caved and he had to pull away for a breath of air. Kevin merely smirked and murmured "Good?" Edd nodded slowly and said "That was truly admirable, Kevin." They both quickly picked up the rest of Kevin's folder contents and put them back where they belong. Kevin then got an idea, and came up behind Edd as he was reaching up to replace Kevin's file back where it belonged and said "Y'know, it's not fair that you know my deepest fear."

Edd put the file up, then turned and looked at Kevin with curiosity. "Whatever could you mean, Kevin?" Kevin continued to smirk and said "Well, you know that I'm afraid of needles, but I have no idea what you're afraid of. I'm thinking you could share one with me." Edd laughed nervously and backed up against the shelf. Kevin closed in on him, placing his hands on the shelf either side of Edd and muttered "C'mon, Double D. You can tell me anything."

Edd twisted his face in thought for a moment, then replied "W-Well… uh… you know that I cannot stand any type of germ. I suppose that could be considered a fault of mine." Kevin shook his head and leaned in closer until his lips were a breath's width from Edd's and said "Not good enough." Edd stared at Kevin's lips with longing, however being as gentle as he was, Edd couldn't find it within himself to be the one to start a kiss and, instead went back into thought for a minute or two. "O-Okay then… I suppose I also suffer from OCD…" Kevin smirked and rested his forehead against Edd's and said "Something I _don't_ know, dork."

By now Edd was trembling with both desire and embarrassment. He opted instead for trying a different way to get Kevin off of him. "Kevin… you're going to be late for class if you dilly-dally around here…" Kevin shook his head, his ginger bangs rubbing against Edd's forehead and he said "Not going anywhere until you tell me." Edd swallowed with a bit of difficulty and muttered tiredly "Alright, alright. I give in. I also suffer from Athazagoraphobia." Kevin raised an eyebrow and said "Come again?"

Edd sighed and said "Athazagoraphobia, or in simpler terms, the fear of being forgotten." Kevin backed up slightly and looked at Edd. How in the world could anyone possibly forget about him? Once meeting the Eds, people tend to never again forget who they are. He recovered quickly and murmured "That's nothing to be afraid of. Nobody will ever forget you, dork. I guarantee that." He leaned in a kissed Edd one more time. Edd felt elated. He guessed that this was Kevin's way of saying that _he'd_ never forget him. Kevin reached up to cup Edd's face lightly before releasing him and going over to the door.

He looked back at Edd and gave him his usual smirk and said "Go wait by your locker for me at three, got it?" Edd nodded, still a little dazed from yet another unusual encounter with the jock and Kevin turned and headed out to class.

The hour flew by far quicker than Edd could imagine it would have and soon the bell rang once more. Edd quickly picked up the sack of his torn clothes and headed out to his locker. Now that the masses of students were out and about, Edd had less fear of being spotted. As soon as he made it to his locker, he pulled out his bag and jacket and then sat there, looking down the hall both ways, searching for Kevin.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Kevin appeared with Nazz. She was giggling at something and he was grinning widely. Before Edd could go over to Kevin, Eddy appeared and grabbed him around the shoulders and directed him back down the hall. "Double D! Where you been? Ed found a quarter in the gym. We're hitting up the candy store." Edd looked around wildly and then gently took Eddy by the wrist and unwrapped his arm from his shoulder. "Sounds lovely, Eddy but remember? I have to go with Kevin."

Eddy stopped and looked at Edd with an annoyed expression. "You can't be serious, sockhead. You're really going to spend time with that loser? He's the ringleader of those jerks that beat you up!" Edd backed away from Eddy slightly and said "I have to, Eddy. However I will join you both right after, which shouldn't be too long. Just give me a little bit of time." Eddy growled in frustration and said "Alright, fine. Be careful though, got it? Kevin's no better than the rest of them." Edd nodded and quickly turned around and hustled back to his locker.

Kevin was already there, leaning against his locker waiting for him. Nazz had long gone so it was just the jock. As Edd approached he said "You finally get Ed-head off your case?" The sock-headed Ed nodded and Kevin pushed up off the locker and said, "Alright then, let's get this over with."

Kevin and Edd walked together in silence towards the gym. Edd's heart pounded in his ears, and he could feel it beating against his chest. He was so nervous he was starting to feel a little sick. He was terrified of Kevin getting hurt, but little did he know that Kevin had already planned ahead and had Nat on his side. Kevin reached up and pulled open the gym doors and let Edd go in first. As they came into the gym, it was easy to see that nobody else was in the gym yet except for Nat, who was already dressed in his practice clothes and leaning against the wall. He took notice of them, and Kevin nodded in his direction. Nat gave him nod in response and straightened up.

Kevin turned to Edd and said "Ok, you wait here in the bleachers while I get dressed. If anything happens, just run fast to the locker rooms and get me okay?" Edd nodded meekly and Kevin gave him a smile before he turned and headed to the locker rooms.

Nat sauntered up to Edd after Kevin disappeared and said "Don't worry about a thing, kid. Kev and I got it under control." Edd looked at the teal-haired jock who gave him a wink. Edd turned and made his way to the bleachers and sat down on in the corner on the first row. Soon enough, the other boys started to come in the door. Edd felt a new wave of terror grip him as they all piled in. None of them seemed to notice him at first, though and they all threw their bags down by the doors and some of them went into the changing rooms while others stayed in the gym and started to throw the basketball around.

Edd heard the creaking of the doors open one more time, and the two jocks he feared running into again came in. Like the rest, they didn't notice him at first. Nat kept their attention by calling out to them, telling them to get in the game before it got started.

Good things never last however, and as Edd spotted Kevin and some others coming back out of the changing room dressed for practice, one of the two jugheads that pounded him earlier caught sight of him sitting on the bleachers. He pointed out at Edd and shouted "Hey, loser! What the hell are you doing here?!" Almost immediately the entire team surrounded Edd. The two boys pushed their way in front and said "You obviously aren't that bright. Maybe you need another lesson."

As the first one reached out to grab Edd, Kevin pushed through the crowd and jumped in front of Edd, crossing his arms and glaring. The other guy stepped forward and said "Captain, what're you doing?" Kevin never answered him, instead he turned and looked back at Edd. "These two right?" Edd nodded silently and Kevin turned back and immediately, struck out with his fist, nailing the first guy square in the nose. As he fell, Kevin turned an aimed a kick in the other guy's gut and sent him onto his knees too.

One of the other kids on the team jumped backwards and said "Jeezus, Kev! What the hell are you thinking?" Kevin stepped back and called out "You see this kid?" He brought his hand down on Edd's shoulder, who flinched and squirmed uncomfortably. "He's with me. Anybody that messes with him, messes with me. And you bunch should know by now what a stupid mistake you'd be making to mess with me."

Nat then spoke up to the team "Guys, back up. Just do what the captain says." Most of the team did back up without a fuss, however the two guys on the ground were far from finished with Kevin. The first one stood up and said "So what? We just play around with your little bitch, and you think you can just beat the shit outta us?!"

Kevin glared and said "What'd you call him?" The other stood up and said "Yeah, he knows we're just messin' around. You don't have get all defensive, captain." Kevin then motioned for Nat, who immediately came forward and jumped the second kid. Kevin glared at the first kid who was about to hit Edd moments ago and said "Maybe _you_ need the lesson." And with that, Kevin sprang on the guy.

Edd had closed his eyes and turned away. He couldn't bear to watch the scene that was unfolding before him. He could hear the punches being thrown, grunts and howls, and contact between bodies being made. The rest of the guys on the team had all started whooping and calling out "Fight, fight, fight!" Edd covered his ears with his hands. Oh where was the coach to end this nonsensical violence?

The rumble was just getting started, however. The two jugheads were so shocked that they were the ones being attacked that they were defending themselves more than attacking. Kevin had lost all coherent thought and was seeing red as he lashed out against the kid. He struck the kid again and again, harder and harder still. He punched, bit, kicked and shoved as hard as he could. The kid, who was at first trying to cover himself started to fight back however. Kevin took a shot to the face, and the pain only fueled his anger. He would make sure that these guys knew to never touch _his_ Double-Dork again. One particularly hard shot to the stomach that he couldn't get around caught Kevin by surprise and he felt his body sailing backwards.

A particular voice yelling out made Edd's eyes snap open and look over. Kevin was the one on the floor this time, the guy had knocked Kevin to the ground. Edd gasped and stood up, crying out "No, Kevin!" Kevin shook his head and got back to his feet and attacked the guy once more. Edd cowered once more and yelled "Stop! Stop it!"

His prayers were answered almost immediately as the coach came rushing into the gym, and saw the scene before him. He then hollered at the boys "Barr! Goldberg! Todd and Jackson! What in the HELL are you doing?" He quickly rushed in and broke both pairs of fighters up and yelled at them. He yelled and yelled for what seemed like forever, until finally he shouted at them to get on the side of the gym. They were all going to run laps for "that little circus show".

Edd watched as the group all made their way over to the sidelines, except for the two guys that beat on him just this morning. They were so badly broken up that the coach had to have them go sit in his office. As they were walking past Edd, they both looked at him and Edd swore his saw a little regret for a moment, but then mostly vicious anger. Edd looked around them to Kevin and Nat who were still going over to the sidelines.

Nat was cradling his arm, a few cuts and bruises marred his body. Kevin however, was limping slightly and was covered in many bruises. His hat was off a bit and both boys' clothes were disheveled. Edd took a few steps out onto the court and the coach caught sight of him. "Eddward, right? What do you need?" Edd stopped and shook his head. The coach then called out "Then I'm gonna ask you to go home, son. These boys are in for a long, rough practice and we can't afford to WASTE ANYMORE TIME THAN WE ALREADY HAVE!" The coach turned and shouted at the team.

Edd sighed and gathered his things, and as he was walking out of the gym, he turned and looked backwards at Kevin and Nat, who were already running with the others back and forth across the gym and didn't look at him. As Edd walked out, he happened to glance at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already almost 4:00. Hoping that Ed and Eddy could take his mind off of how bad he was feeling, Edd began his long walk home alone, with Kevin still fresh in his mind.


	7. Chapter 7

Eddy and Ed were in the middle of making a pizza when Edd came to the door. They immediately allowed him in and with a small thank you, Edd took a seat at Eddy's kitchen table. Eddy flipped through a cook book lazily and said "Yo, Sockhead what kind of toppings you want?" Edd was so lost in his train of thought that Eddy had to reach up and snap his fingers in his face to bring him back to the present. "My apologies, Eddy I was lost in my thoughts." Eddy raised his eyebrow and looked at him oddly.

Ed then happily exclaimed "Meat lover's!" Eddy shrugged and said "Get a hold of yourself, Sockhead." Edd smiled at him but then immediately went back into thought. Eddy pulled a ready-made pizza crust out of the freezer and tossed it at Edd. "Here, open that and find a pan." Edd slowly did was he was told and placed the frozen bread on the silver pan and just stared at it once he had. He decided that he would let Kevin get his rest tonight. He did want to go see Kevin and make sure he wasn't too seriously hurt, but he knew how exhausting physical confrontation could be.

So he stayed with Ed and Eddy at Eddy's house, they lounged in the living room and watched a movie while they ate their pizza. As the sun was setting and the sky turned a beautiful pink and orange, Edd happened to look out the window and see a familiar bike coming down the road. Edd quickly sat up from lounging on the coach and continued to look out as Kevin rolled up next door and dismounted.

Eddy happened to catch Edd watching out the window and looked out and saw who he was staring at. "Hey, check it out. Ol' Shovelchin finally remembered where he lives!" Edd glared at Eddy and said "Oh Eddy, must you _always_ find a reason to insult everyone you come across?" Eddy looked at Edd and said "What? Have you forgotten all the stuff Bazooka-chin's done to us in the past? Like the time he tied you to the tree by your underwear and left you there all afternoon?" Edd shifted uncomfortably and said "No, I haven't forgotten…"

Eddy ignored him and continued "Or the time he chased us down into the sewer? The time he picked you up by the hat and threw you across the street for accidentally touching his precious bike? The time he threw an entire carton of eggs in your face? The times he's beaten us up with no mercy? What about all those times, Double D? I think all the shit he's done to us has entitled me to at least _say_ something about him!" Of course Edd would never forget that Kevin was a bully to them, but he certainly had tried to think past all of that after what had happened just this morning in the nurse's office. Eddy was as red as a tomato as he continued, "You know, I bet Shovelchin sent those two to beat you up!"

That was the final straw. Without a word, Edd grabbed his napkin, wiped his face and hands off then stood up and thanked Eddy for the pizza and the movie and announced that he was leaving. As he headed out the door, Eddy was calling after him. "Where are you going? Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?"

Edd didn't feel like responding and just went out the door. He looked at Kevin's house, but it was obvious that Kevin had already gone inside, he was nowhere to be found. For the first time in his life, Edd felt very conflicted with the two most important parts of his life. Eddy and Ed, his two best friends from childhood, and Kevin, the guy Edd knew would protect him from anything. He thought that he could share anything with Kevin now, but Eddy was right. All those things he'd done to them in the past were cruel. Maybe this was just another horrible trick Kevin was playing.

Edd walked into his house and closed the door behind him, and reached up to rub his tender eye, which wasn't nearly as swollen anymore, but still hurt. He knew at some point this weekend he would see Kevin. He would just have to brave going up to Kevin in broad daylight among all his friends and ask him to talk. Then, Edd was sure he'd see Kevin's true colors. He just hoped that it wasn't all just a big prank. Why would he have kissed Edd so lovingly if it meant nothing? Why would he beat up the people on his own team for Edd? Surely it wasn't all for naught.

Edd had just made the trek up the stairs to go get his bathrobe and his shower cap when he heard the doorbell ring. Being perpetually home alone, he let out a sigh of frustration and with his things in-hand, he hurried down the hall and trekked back down the stairs and over to the door. He quickly stood up on his tip-toes and looked through the eyehole. He gasped and immediately he unlocked all the locks on the door and flung it open to greet Kevin, who was leaning against the doorframe.

Edd opened his mouth and said "Oh Kevin! What a surprise, what are you doing here? It's almost 8:00!" Kevin pushed up off the door frame and said "What, I kicked a couple asses for you, and then I can't even come over on a Friday night?" Edd brought his hands together against his chest, and looked around nervously and said "Of course you can, but I just though perhaps you needed to get your rest. There was a lot of physical confrontation today and I assumed you would just return to your home and regain your strength." Kevin merely smirked and started forward, but Edd quickly brought both his arms up and blocked the doorway. "Wait! Uh, please remove your shoes first. House rule."

Kevin shrugged and did as he was asked. Edd finally had no choice but to let him in. Kevin looked around and muttered "Huh, nice place." Edd rubbed the back of his neck and said "I suppose it is a fairly standard house." Kevin made his way into the living room and looked around some more. Edd stood rooted to his spot and said "So…how are you feeling?" Kevin turned and looked back at him and said blankly "Sore."

Edd nodded, not sure what else to say. Eddy's words were still biting at him. All the memories of Kevin's bullying were running through his mind. Kevin surprised him by coming up to him and asked him "How are _you_ feeling?" Edd swayed back and forth a bit on his feet and said "Well, I am stable. Not too much pain left anywhere." Kevin nodded and said "That's good." As the ginger leaned in to kiss him, Edd had to think fast. "Uh, can I offer you something to drink?" Kevin shook his head and said "No, I got what I want right here."

Kevin's arms encircled his waist and his lips claimed Edd's in a soft kiss. Edd stood there and looked at Kevin as they lip-locked. His skin was so tan and flawless, only freckles covered his nose and cheeks. The kiss seemed to last longer than it did, but Edd found himself pulling away and said "W-Well Kevin I was going to take a shower. You are welcome to make yourself comfortable while you wait for me." Kevin looked at him suspiciously and said "…Okay?" Edd shook Kevin off of him and left him on the couch staring at him. He quickly ascended the staircase and made for the bathroom once more.

However he didn't make it to the bathroom, because suddenly he was pushed up against the wall by a blunt force. He grunted and squirmed for a moment, before he opened his eyes and stared straight into Kevin's blue eyes. The jock looked back at him and said "Alright, spill. What's wrong?" Edd swallowed and said "Whatever do you mean, Kevin?" Kevin shook his head and said "Cut the bull crap, Double D. What's wrong?"

Edd twisted slightly, trying to push Kevin off, but the athlete wasn't going anywhere. Edd tried again "I'm quite alright, Kevin. I assure you." Kevin seemed to almost glare at Edd and said "You're being absolutely serious with me right now? 'Cuz you know how pissed off I'd be if I found out you were lying to me."

Edd finally sighed and gave in. "Alright. It's just that…Eddy talked to me today." Kevin's glare did not improve, and so Edd continued "He just reminded me of our younger days, when you were…not so nice to me. He told me I should stay away from you." Kevin backed up off of Edd and was quiet. Edd watched Kevin, but his face was completely blank. Edd sighed and started to go around Kevin to the bathroom, but Kevin caught him again.

He looked at the sock-head and said "I know I've done some pretty shitty things to you before. I'm sorry I hurt you. But I'm not gonna apologize for kicking the crap out of Eddy, he deserved it." Kevin leaned in and kissed Edd once more. Edd let him kiss him for a moment before he pulled away and said "I forgive you, Kevin." The jock smirked and grabbed Edd by the hand and dragged him down the hall. "Where are we going?" Kevin didn't turn back or slow down as he replied "Your room."

Kevin got all the way to Edd's door without a fuss until he opened it. Edd then said "I must insist you put on a pair of slippers before going in there!" Kevin turned and raised an eyebrow at Edd. The boy quickly freed his wrist from Kevin's grasp and reached down to pick up a pair of slippers and give them to Kevin. The jock merely rolled his eyes and said "Do I have any choice?" Edd shook his head and stated "Not if you want to go into my bedroom with me." Kevin smirked and slowly put them on and said "We won't be needing them for long."

After Edd had pulled on a pair of his own slippers, Kevin pulled him into his room. He looked around the room and said "Man, Double Dork. I always knew you were a neat freak, but seriously?" Edd smiled sheepishly and said "A fault of mine, I suppose." Kevin smirked and turned around to shut the door behind Edd. The sockhead watched Kevin warily. What were his intentions? Kevin then crossed over to Edd's bed, kicked his slippers off and flopped down on it. "Kevin!" Edd cried "Do you know how long it takes me to make that bed perfect in the mornings? Do you?" Kevin grinned as an idea formed in his mind "Just try to come stop me, then." He rolled on Edd's bed, forming a sort of bundled nest around himself.

Edd made a strangled noise and rushed over to stop him. As soon as he got there and reached out to pull Kevin away, the athlete shot up and grabbed Edd around his waist and pulled him down on the bed with him. Edd struggled for a bit with him before sitting up and said "Goodness, Kevin! Just think about all the dead skin you're shedding all over my bed!" Kevin smirked and said. "Don't sweat that stuff, dorky. We're about to get a lot more on the bed." Edd paled a bit and said "What do you mean by that?"

Kevin sat up and kissed Edd soundly on the mouth once more. Their tongues slid together and danced wildly in Edd's mouth. As they kissed, Kevin moved so that they were lying down on the bed once more. Edd quickly pulled away and started to speak, but Kevin shushed him with a hand over his mouth and said "You don't whine about germs when we kiss, so don't whine about lying on the bed with me." This seemed to work, as Edd relaxed under Kevin's hand and remained quiet.

Kevin smiled and said "Good. Now just, don't be a dork." He then got up and turned Edd so that he was resting his head on his pillow and Kevin climbed over him. Kevin returned to kissing his mouth as he ran his hands up Edd's torso. Edd squirmed and said "Kevin, I've never done this before…" Kevin smiled and said "Great." Edd held him at bay with his hands on his chest and said "No… I'm extremely nervous. Have you done this before? I mean, do you know what to do?" Kevin knew that he owed the kid an explanation. "Well, Nazz and I have been…physical before. Just nothing ever happened past touching each other." Edd listened intently as Kevin continued "But I've never been with another guy. I'm not much more experienced than you."

Edd understood, but it did little to stop his nervous heartbeat. Kevin then said "Just relax, Edd." Kevin's use of his real name made his already beating heart flutter and his face flushed. Kevin kissed his mouth, then trailed down and kissed his jaw, and that spot just under his ear, and it made Edd squirm with pleasure. Kevin noticed this and nipped lightly at the skin and Edd made a small squeak. Kevin chuckled and kept his ministrations up as he slid his hands up Edd's shirt.

Edd didn't make too much of a fuss, so Kevin broke away from him and made him lift his arms as he removed the shirt. Edd was showing obvious signs of discomfort, as he tried to cover himself up with his arms. Kevin then took off his hat and tossed it onto the desk nearby. That done, he quickly rid himself of his shirt then gently took Edd's wrists and guided them away from his body. The two just stared at each other's chests in wonder for a moment. They both could appreciate the damage that had been done to each other. Bruises that were only faintly visible during school earlier were now very prominent.

Kevin was done looking and leaned down and started kissing. He started at Edd's neck, kissing the soft skin and occasionally nipping at it. Edd whimpered and tried to push Kevin up, whimpering "Kevin…stop…" Kevin took Edd's hands away once more and murmured to him "Trust me, Double D. I'm not going to hurt you." That seemed to be enough for the moment and Edd relaxed once more. Kevin returned to his administrations, nipping at Edd's throat, leaving glossy red marks in random places.

Kevin started roaming down Edd's chest and shoulders, stopping to place a soft kiss on every bruise he came across. He travelled further and further down Edd's body until he came to a stop at his nipples. He looked up at Edd briefly with a devious smile on his lips as he lowered his head to Edd's right nipple. Kevin reached up and took hold of his lover's head, keeping it bent down so he could make eye contact with Edd the whole time as he slowly flicked out his tongue, flicking it sharply against his nipple. Edd felt his eyes roll back slightly at the pleasure he received. Kevin took him into his mouth entirely, and Edd groaned as Kevin sucked hard on it, flicking his tongue against it and nibbling gently. His left hand was busy with the other one, pinching and rubbing it between his fingers.

Edd moaned and whimpered, before he finally managed to choke out "K-Kevin… I need…I-I…" Kevin knew immediately what Edd wanted and raised himself up onto his arms to look him in the eye. "I'll do it on one condition." Edd tilted his head down to look back at Kevin and wait for him to continue. "Take the hat off."

Edd's eyes widened, which was a mistake as his black eye stung a bit at that reaction. He looked up at Kevin in silence and for a moment, they just sat there looking at one another. Kevin's eyebrow raised slightly and he said "Unless you want me to stop that badly." Edd shook his head, blushing furiously and said "No, no. I'll do it." He sat up underneath Kevin and reached up to remove the garment. Kevin's eyes roamed his head, and Edd could feel his stare land on that hideous scar.

Once again, Kevin surprised his love by leaning up and kissing his old wound. Edd's rapidly beating heart melted once more as Kevin kissed his way down to his lips. Their tongues danced together once more before Kevin sat up and started to undo Edd's pants. Edd's entire face turned beat red, and he looked away as Kevin slid his pants off and tossed them to the ground. Before Kevin did away with Edd's undergarments, he couldn't help but to tease him by running his hand over the slight bulge in his undergarments, which was growing by the second. Edd threw back his head into the pillows and released another moan.

Kevin sat up to undo his own pants, and tossed them down as well and then leaned back over Edd, pinning his arms up by his head with his hands and began to grind his hips against Edd's. Edd squirmed against Kevin's restraining hands and cried out as Kevin grinded harder, creating such an intense friction between them. Soon though, Kevin knew he had to do something.

He reached down to pull Edd's undergarments off and toss them aside carelessly. Edd was now splayed out before him with nothing more to hide. Kevin felt his mouth water as he scooted down the bed further. He gave Edd one last look before he grabbed his dick roughly, squeezing it and running his hand up and down it slowly a few times as he would his own. The boy underneath him moaned and Kevin grinned wickedly, increasing his pace. The gentler Edd closed his eyes for a brief moment, secretly enjoying the feeling of Kevin handling him on his own bed. Suddenly, a warm wetness engulfed Edd. His eyes opened in time to see Kevin licking at him. He brought his head down slowly, and Edd gasped at the feeling of the back of Kevin's throat against him.

This was all new to Kevin, and it was difficult for him to take Edd all the way in without gagging. He sped up his movements, allowing Edd to thrust in to his mouth a couple times. Edd wriggled underneath him and cried out "K-Kevin! I-I'm going to-" His back arched off of the bed, causing him to slip deeper into Kevin's mouth as he released. Kevin wasn't sure that he liked having another man release into his mouth, but for Edd, he'd do it again and again. He swallowed all of it and released Edd and crawled back up to face him.

The look of sheer bliss on Edd's face made Kevin smirk and Edd stammer out "T-That was absolutely amazing, Kevin." Kevin chuckled and said "Glad you thought so, but we're not done yet." Edd looked up at him as Kevin pulled off his own undergarments. "Would you like me to return the favor?" Edd asked naively. Kevin smirked and said "No, I've got something else in mind, but you need to trust me. Can you do that?" Edd looked Kevin in his blue eyes. The memories of bullying from earlier flashed through his mind, but just as they had, the memories of Kevin standing up for him, kissing him and touching him filled his mind. Edd nodded once and said "I trust you, Kevin." Kevin rewarded him with a kiss and said "Alright, roll over."

Edd did as he was told, quietly lying on his stomach. Kevin mounted his legs. Edd bit back a remark of how unsanitary this was and asked "Kevin? Is this going to be painful?" Kevin bit his lip and said "It probably will be, yeah. I'm not sure. Never done this before…Just promise me, if it hurts too much, tell me and I will stop." Edd nodded and buried his face in his pillow. Kevin gently slid one finger into Edd, who tensed up and whimpered. "Chill, Double D. Or else it will hurt worse."

Edd tried over and over again to make his muscles loosen up, but they wanted to stay tight. Soon, he managed to get them somewhat relaxed and Kevin slipped in another finger, scissoring them to stretch him out. Edd made another noise of discomfort, but let him continue. When Kevin felt he had prepped Edd long enough, he released him, and quickly leaned over to grab his pants and pull his wallet out. Edd looked back behind him to see him pulling a condom out and opening it. Edd swallowed the lump in his throat and faced forward again.

Kevin put the condom on and then lined himself up with Edd. "Remember what I said, Double D. Tell me if you hurt too much." Edd nodded and Kevin slowly entered him. Edd cried out loudly and grabbed the headboard of his bed. Kevin was absolutely still for a few moments to let Edd try and adjust to him. When Edd stopped whimpering, Kevin pulled out slightly, then slowly slid back in. This slow pace kept up for a while, as Edd kept his face shoved in the pillow and gripped the headboard tightly. Soon though, Kevin started to move faster and Edd felt the pain within him turn to pleasure. After a bit, Edd was moving his hips in tune with Kevin. Kevin pulled out and then rammed into Edd until he was all the way sheathed. Kevin let out a grunt and continued to thrust into his love.

Kevin pulled Edd's hips up and Edd slowly brought himself onto his arms and knees on the bed. Edd cried out for Kevin over and over as the jock pounded into him. One of Kevin's hands snaked around Edd's hip to take hold of his new erection and pumped his hand up and down in time with his thrusts. Kevin's thrusts became less and less in time and more and more uncontrolled as he neared his edge. Kevin couldn't stop the moans and grunts from escaping and he gave one final deep thrust, and felt his orgasm mount as he cried out "Double D!" The sound of Kevin screaming his name coupled with the feeling of Kevin pouring himself inside of him was more than Edd could take and as Kevin came down on top of him, he released in Kevin's hand onto the bed, crying out "Kevin!"

Kevin pulled out of Edd and took the condom off, tossing it in the trash by the bed. He was surprised to find that there was no blood. For a long while, they laid there on the sweaty, sticky bedsheets, panting. Edd was having a panic attack at the germy mess he'd made, but his body was too tired to get up and do something about it. Kevin's arm was resting lazily around his hips and he felt the jock's heaving chest pressed up against his back. For a few more minutes, Edd lay there until finally, staring at the mess was more than he could take. He quickly got up out of Kevin's grasp and tore the bedsheets off of his bed and took them across the hall to the laundry chutes.

Kevin merely smirked as he returned and lay down beside him. The ginger athlete reached up with a hand and ran his fingers through Edd's black strands of hair. Edd lie there watching his face with interest. Kevin tilted his head down and pushed his forehead against Edd's. Kevin smiled at his sockhead and said "You were amazing." Edd shook his head and said "I was nowhere near the level of intensity that you were." Kevin replied with a butterfly kiss on his lips. Edd then asked him "Kevin, you weren't planning on going home, were you?" Kevin shook his head and replied "Actually I was thinking about staying here, if that's okay. My parents won't miss me." Edd smiled his bright, gap-toothed smile and said "It's completely acceptable with me if you stay here."

That was the last thing either of them said the rest of the night. They lay in each other's arms through the hours, both completely satisfied.


	8. Chapter 8

Kevin woke up the next morning to find he was alone in an unfamiliar room. Sitting up, he stretched out and yawned, the memories of the night before sweeping over him. Slowly maneuvering to sit on the side of the bed, he noticed his clothes from last night all folded in a neat stack on the desk beside his hat. A tiny smile graced his lips as he stood up and walked over to get them. As he slipped his boxers and black basketball shorts on, he noticed that his clothes were still warm and smelled just like Edd.

Leaving his green shirt and orange hoodie on the desk, he walked out of the bedroom to find said boy. Walking down the hall in his bare feet, he could pick up the scent of breakfast as he rounded the corner and walked down the stairs. He reached the living room and took a left, heading into the kitchen. In there, he found Edd, fully dressed and standing in front of the stove. He looked around and found two places set at the table, along with a note that had been set aside. He picked up the small blue paper and it read

_Eddward-_

_Your father and I sent money for you to go grocery shopping with. We will be home in a week or so, hopefully. Please keep taking care of the house for us._

_-Mom_

He set the note down and continued to look at it. Man, the dork had to buy his own groceries and look after the house all by himself? How harsh… Kevin must have lingered there too long, looking at the note because Edd spotted him and cheerfully said "Good morning, Kevin! I hope you slept well." Catching sight of Kevin's lack of clothes, he blushes and said "I see that you have at least found one article of clothing." He put down the spatula that was in his hand and came over to hug Kevin tightly, who returned the embrace and asked "How long have you been up?"

Edd turned back to the scrambled eggs he was cooking and said "Oh, for a while now. As it turns out, if you get to the grocery store early enough, you can get your groceries fresh as they are put up on the shelf, additionally you don't have to wait in a long line at the checkout."

Kevin watched him as he continued to poke the eggs around with his spatula. "You've already been to the grocery store _and_ did laundry before I woke up?" Edd nodded and said "It was really no trouble at all. I felt much more peace of mind over germs in my room after I did." Kevin then slid his arms around Edd's waist and said "You should've woke me up. I would have helped you."

Edd smiled and said "Oh there would've have been any reason, I manage to get it all done by myself. I'm afraid if I had sent you to do a chore for me, I would have steered you wrong." Kevin nuzzled the back of Edd's neck, where the few strands of hair that poked out from under his hat tickled his face.

"So you do this every day? You have to take care of this whole house and yourself?" Edd leaned back against Kevin slightly and replied "Yes, but I assure you it's no trouble. I've been managing the house for a long time. The only thing I don't do is pay the bills. My parents do that whenever they come home."

Kevin released Edd to let him transfer the eggs onto the two plates on the table, and then placed the hot skillet back on the stove to cool, and ran to grab the toast just as it was popping out of the toaster. He ushered Kevin over to his seat at the table and made him wait there.

Edd finished grabbing all the stuff for breakfast, and then joined Kevin. For a while, Kevin ate in silence as Edd rambled on about his trip to the store and Kevin only pretended to listen. He was too deep in thought about amazing last night was. Edd quieted down and ate his eggs and Kevin the spoke up "So was last night good for you?"

Edd choked on his eggs and quickly wiped his mouth off. "Y-Yes, it was absolutely wonderful. Very much so." Edd brought his glass of milk to his lips and looked away as he drank. Kevin tilted his head and said "You don't sound very convincing, dork." Edd looked back at him and said "Well, last night is not the problem, so much as the aftershocks this morning." Kevin leaned in and put his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand. "What are you talking about?"

Edd fidgeted slightly and said "Well this morning, I experienced pain and discomfort, not only from the injuries I received from those two bullies yesterday morning, but from something else…" Kevin's eyes widened as he slowly realized what he was talking about. "I hurt you, didn't I?"

Edd shook his head and said "Not to worry, the pain will go away. I assure you it isn't nearly as serious as it was during the night. At Kevin's face Edd covered his mouth and turned to the side. He really wished he hadn't said that.

Kevin stood from the table and made his way over to Edd and bent down in front of him, putting his hands on Edd's thighs. "Tell me. Did you bleed?" Edd felt guilty "Kevin…" "Did you bleed, Double D?!"

Edd was caught, and quietly, he nodded his head. Kevin sighed and thought about it for a moment and reached up to grab Edd around his waist and pulled him up to hold him in his arms for a while. Edd brought his hand up to rest on Kevin's chest and he looked at Kevin and said "I am alright, Kevin. I promise." Kevin looked Edd in the eyes and nodded in response. They slowly pulled apart and Edd shifted and said "So, are you finished eating?"

Kevin couldn't help the laugh that escaped his throat and said "Yeah I guess so, dorky." Edd cleared the table while Kevin made his way back up the stairs to get dressed. As Kevin was upstairs, a knock on the door caught Edd's attention. He crossed his house over to the door and just as the knocking started again, Edd opened the door to face Eddy and Ed.

Fear gripped Edd's heart as he stammered "O-Oh, Eddy. What a pleasant surprise." Eddy said "It's Saturday, Double D! We've got scams to work on, money to take. Let's go!" Before Edd could even object, Ed and Eddy pushed past him into his house. "Eddy, please! It's not too much to ask you to wait outside! I have a guest I'm still tending to!"

Eddy whipped around and said "Criminey! Who's so important that you can't spend time with your pals?" Edd's brain flashed, he knew he was going to be in big trouble. "Eddy, Kevin's upstairs in my room."

Eddy paused, then said "What did you say?" Edd repeated himself and Eddy stood shocked for a moment before all hell broke loose. "What the _hell_ is HE doing here?!" Eddy brought his hands up defensively "Eddy, please don't shout." Eddy was ignoring him and continued to rage "Is THAT why you've been acting so weird? You've been with Shovelchin this whole time?!"

Luckily, Kevin seemed to have enough sense not to come barreling down the stairs and jump in the middle of it. Eddy continued to glare at Edd. "Sockhead, who's side are you _on_? I thought you were my friend!" Edd sighed and said "I didn't want to do this Eddy. I didn't want another confrontation to ruin our already unstable friendship." Ed looked from Eddy to Edd warily and nervously asked "Who wants to make toast guys?

Edd faced Eddy full on and said "Eddy, let's get something straight here right now. I _am _your friend, I always have been." Eddy laughed sharply and said "Yeah right, you're nothing but a backstabbing two-timing cheat!" Edd made a noise of discomfort and said "Eddy, please bring your voice down if you're going to be angry. Please try to understand that I can have both you and Kevin as friends."

Eddy shook his head, his face as red as a tomato and yelled back, "No you can't! Kevin's a douchebag! Don't you remember anything that he's done to us? He's one of those meatheads, not one of us! You're an idiot if you think Kevin cares about anything but himself!" Edd almost lost his temper and retorted "I _do _remember very clearly what's been done. However I must remind you that the past _is _the past, Eddy. Kevin has requested my friendship in these last couple days, and I am willing to let everything go to become his friend."

Eddy's arms were crossed, and his glare was unwavering, but Edd was beyond caring. He continued to rant, "And if you were _my_ friend, you'd understand that I have feelings, too and it hurts me deeply when you squash them for your own self-gratification!" Eddy didn't immediately retort, instead opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again and wheeled around and said "Let's go, lumpy." Ed, who had been cowering from the two the entire time, came forward and lumbered out the door behind a raging Eddy.

Edd waited until they were both gone before he dropped onto his knees and cried. Kevin had come down within seconds and was knelt down beside him, one arm around Edd's shoulder and his other hand on Edd's thigh, rubbing soothingly. Edd sobbed into his hands. "Why can't he ever just be happy for me, Kevin?"

Kevin felt absolutely helpless, and helped Edd to his feet. He brought the sobbing boy over to the couch and sat down, putting Edd on his lap. He wished with all his heart that he could do something to stop his love from hurting. All he could do for the moment was hold him and pet him. Edd cried for a while, until he had run out of tears to shed and just sat against Kevin, taking broken breaths of air. Kevin reached up and turned Edd's face to his and said "It's my fault, Double D. It's got nothing to do with you. He's just mad because it's me." Edd didn't say anything in response, so Kevin leaned in and kissed him gently.

Soon though, Kevin had to go home and let his parents know that he was there, but he promised Edd he'd come back in the afternoon. With another soft kiss, Kevin departed and started across the circle drive to his house. As he crossed, he watched all of the others playing and running around the cul-de-sac. Kevin felt it was stupid, they were all growing up, even dorko and his monobrowed friend. Childish fights like who to be friends with should have been a thing of the past.

As he stepped up onto the curb, he was pleasantly surprised when Nazz came up to him. He gave her his usual greeting of "Yo, Nazz." However she wasn't all that interested and said "Kev, we need to talk." Kevin nodded, a little befuddled and said "Alright, come in."

He led her into his house and they flopped down on his couch. "Kev, the guys on the team are starting to talk. They're concerned about your focus." Kevin felt slightly confused as Nazz continued. "You know better than anyone that in two weeks, we've got the big tournament between us, Macintosh Stream and Lemon Brook."

Kevin nodded and said "Duh, what's got the team's panties in a bunch?" Nazz replied "They think you're gonna be too distracted by Double D." Kevin's eyebrows scrunched together and said "What? What's that supposed to mean?" Nazz wrung her hands together and said "You've been spending a lot of time with him; I heard you even took out Tyler Jackson and Derrick Todd over him!" Kevin waved it off and said "They beat the shit outta him, Nazz. Somebody had to stand up to them, and we both know he probably couldn't even stand up to a roll of toilet paper."

Nazz was quiet for a moment, then said "Kev, what happened to us?" Kevin looked at his friend and said "What are you talking about?" Nazz reached up and gently shook his arm and said "We used to be close like you and Double D are! We might as well have been dating. What happened to all that?" Kevin sighed, knowing that she was going to feel pretty hurt in a moment. "We were always friends Nazz; you said it yourself that night we were together in your room. You wouldn't let us be more, because you weren't ready."

Nazz bit her lip, then said "Yeah, I guess that is my fault. I should've told you a lot sooner…" Kevin was lost. "Told me what?" Nazz leaned in closer to him and murmured, "That I was ready to be your girlfriend."

* * *

**Leave it to a girl to throw a wrench in the plot. I kid, I kid. :P But seriously Nazz, you're crazy.**


	9. Chapter 9

Several hours had passed since Kevin left Edd's house. Edd felt humiliated for crying like a baby in front of him, and wasn't to objecting to Kevin going home for a while. Edd was down in the laundry room starting a new load thinking about all that had happened just that morning. He felt that he should have tried harder to make Eddy leave instead of just spilling the beans. He hated fighting with his best friends, even if Eddy was a pigheaded conman; he was still one of Edd's only two friends. Well, three he supposed.

As he came back upstairs, he saw Kevin coming up the sidewalk to his door again, and quickly came over to open it before he knocked. Kevin slipped off his shoes, gave him a simple 'thanks', then walked in and stood there, looking around. Edd could immediately sense a problem and motioned him to follow. He led Kevin upstairs into his bedroom, but not before making sure Kevin put on slippers, and had him sit on the bed while he finished putting his laundry away. Edd turned back to Kevin and asked "Are you alright, Kevin?"

Kevin didn't respond too quickly, he bit his lip and said "Not sure." Edd sat down beside him and said "You can confide in me. I will do my best to remedy the situation, whatever it is." Kevin looked into Edd's eyes and for a moment, he lost himself. Those green eyes were so beautiful. He blinked a bit then said "It's Nazz." Edd listened and waited for Kevin to continue. "She just…told me that she wanted to be my girlfriend."

Edd felt both surprised, and not surprised. Kevin had mentioned before that he and Nazz were…close. However he thought that if they were going to become something more, they would have by now. He leaned back, and folded his hands together in his lap.

"Isn't that what you want, Kevin?" Kevin shook his head. "Maybe before yesterday that's what I would have wanted, but not anymore. I told her it was too late."

Edd felt pity and said "Oh dear, was Nazz upset?" Kevin shrugged and said "Yeah, she was a little hurt but it's not like I kicked her out or anything. I just told her it wasn't going to happen."

Edd nodded and scooted closer to Kevin and asked "So Nazz is aware of our relationship now?" Kevin nodded in response. "I hope she isn't blatantly disgusted. I was rather fond of her, too." Kevin rested his forehead on the top of Edd's hat and said "She'll be fine. Nazz is just like one of the guys." Edd nodded slowly and responded "May I ask one more question?"

Kevin smirked and teased, "Y'know all your questions are gonna kill me one day." Edd ignored his comment and continued "Are you certain you'd rather have a relationship with me instead of a normal one with Nazz." Kevin pulled his head up to look at Edd as he continued. "Everyone would approve of it; they have even come to expect it. You wouldn't have to deal with all the secrecy, or the possible ridicule."

Kevin's gaze turned colder the longer Edd kept talking, and soon Edd caught on and kept quiet. "No, I'd rather face a million of Ed-head's stupid scams than have a fake relationship with someone I don't even like that much." Edd's heart gave a joyful flutter as Kevin smirked and said "I chose you Double Dork, and that ain't change no matter what, got it?"

Edd grinned widely, as he couldn't help himself. "You mean, that '**won't** change no matter what.'" Kevin smiled and said "You're cruisin' for a bruisin', you know?" He reached over and took hold of Edd's pillow and whacked the sockhead right in the side of the head and gave him a hardy laugh as Edd yelped and whined at him.

"_Kevin_! You have absolutely no respect for the amount of time I spend organizing and straightening this bed in the mornings, or the whole room for that matter!" Kevin ignored him and whacked him with the pillow again before Edd jumped at him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders in a tight hug.

Kevin lay back onto the bed, with Edd resting on top of him. They both sighed contently and Kevin stroked Edd's back as Edd listened to Kevin's heartbeat for a long while, soft smiles spread across each pair of lips. Edd opened his eyes, not realizing they were closed and mumbled "I've never felt this way about anyone." Kevin chuckled and said "Me neither dorky." Both of them could not remember a time when they were happier with someone else.

They spent quite a while longer cuddling each other close, in fact most of the afternoon was spent sharing sweet nothings, the two even fell asleep briefly because the comfort was so good. It was about 4:30 when Kevin sat up, and Edd awoke with a start. They smiled at each other and Kevin leaned in and captured Edd's lips. In the heat of the moment, both of their stomachs growled in unison and they broke apart. Kevin wrapped his arms around Edd's hips and said "Hey, why don't you eat at my house tonight?"

Edd sat up and straddled his knees on either side of Kevin's and said "Oh, I'm not really sure, I wouldn't want to impose." Kevin shook his head and replied "Nah its cool. I'm always doing the cooking anyways. My parents usually stay in the house. Besides that, I'm sure when the rest of the kids around here find out I'm cooking, there'll be a party."

Edd looked Kevin in his bright blue eyes, his own green eyes sparkling with admiration and said "I haven't been to many parties… In fact I can't remember every being officially invited to one. Usually Eddy forces Ed and I into foolish attempts at crashing them." Kevin nodded, knowing full well what Eddy had his gang do whenever someone was trying to have a good time.

"Well now you won't have to be invited. Come to my house with me and we'll throw our own party." Edd's entire face lit up at that. "R-Really? You and I, throwing a party for the cul-de-sac?" Kevin smirked, squeezing Edd's hips with his arms and said "It's not that hard to do. Just get some food cooking, pull out a couple lawn chairs and people will show up out of nowhere."

Edd thought for a moment longer, and Kevin brought his face mere inches from Edd's and muttered "C'mon, if we're gonna be together, you're gonna have to try new things sometimes."

That seemed to be all it took for Edd to agree, but he held Kevin back with a hand and said "Hopefully I am not about to dampen your spirits Kevin, but I would appreciate it if we could extend an invitation to Ed and even Eddy? I know what Eddy is capable of doing to our fun, however I still regard him and Ed as my friends and it would make me happy if we could at least request their presence."

Kevin made a small groan of frustration. Keep Eddy out of the party was all that he wanted to do. As he looked at Edd's pleading eyes, his walls crumbled and he sighed "Fine. We can ask Ed and that loser you call a friend." Edd was overjoyed and hugged Kevin tightly, but as they got up were heading out of the bedroom, Edd said "What will we do if Eddy _does _try to cause mayhem, and turns our party into a disaster?"

Kevin was way ahead of him and said "Got it, I know someone who'll keep Ed-head in line."

After the two had gotten out of the house and were walking across the cul-de-sac, they caught sight of Jimmy and Sarah playing together. Kevin and Edd approached them and Jimmy greeted, "Hi Kevin! Would you like to play House with us?"

Before Kevin could respond, Sarah's sharp voice rang, "What are you doing with _him_ Kevin?" Kevin ignored Sarah's comment and said "Double D and I are having a party at my house, half-pints. If you're hungry, show up in about half an hour."

As they were walking away, Edd could hear Sarah ask Jimmy "_Double D_ is throwing a party with _Kevin_?" The two boys continued across the street and caught sight of Rolf pulling a wagon full of hay bales into the cul-de-sac from somewhere and Kevin called out to him. "Yo Rolf. Party at my house in 30 minutes, man. Be there." Rolf waved in acknowledgement and Kevin continued on his way. As they were about to go into Kevin's house, Edd stopped and said "Wait, we forgot Jonny and Eddy." Kevin waved his hand nonchalantly and replied "You go get 'em, I'll get started here. When you come back, you can help me."

Edd hustled back down the street. He figured it would be safer to tell Ed to bring Eddy than to try and invite Eddy himself. He got Ed and Sarah's house and hurried around the back of it, kneeling down and knocking on the window. Ed's square head popped up and he opened the window and cheerfully shouted "Double D!"

Edd smiled and said "Hello Ed. Listen, there's going to be a get-together at Kevin's house in roughly 30 minutes, and I am helping him host. I would be most honored if you and Eddy could attend."

Ed stared blankly at Edd, who wondered if he understood anything. Ed suddenly grinned and said "Okee dokee, Double D. See you in half an hour." Eddy gave him his usual gap-toothed smile and said "Oh thank you Ed. If could please do a small favor for me and tell Eddy that Kevin says he is allowed to come as long as Eddy promises to behave himself." Ed nearly shouted back "I'll tell him, Double D!"

Edd quickly hustled back around and started looking for Jonny 2x4. His first thought was to go to the neighborhood park, and he was rewarded when he found Jonny and Plank sitting in the sandbox.

After telling Jonny the news, he tiredly hustled his way back to Kevin's, where he found Kevin in the back, cranking up the grill. Kevin looked around the yard and gave Edd a quick peck on the mouth, causing the latter to squeak in surprise and blush furiously. Kevin returned his attention to the grill and said "Listen up, hot stuff. There's a cooler inside the house by the screen door. Grab it and take it over to the fridge and fill it with ice." Edd quickly nodded at Kevin and ran off to do his bidding.

As Edd was in the middle of filling the cooler, Kevin came in and pulled out a package of hot dogs and hamburger meat out of the fridge and set about preparing. Edd tried to resist, but he really couldn't help himself. "It's dangerous to keep your meats in the refrigerator for too long, you know. They need to be kept frozen to avoid foodborne illnesses such as Salmonella, E. coli or Shigellosis."

Kevin was turned away from Edd as he shaped the meat into patties and slapped them on a plate, so the sockhead couldn't see his smirk. He playfully ribbed back, "Don't worry dorky. This meat's only been the fridge since Thursday." Just as Kevin planned, Edd freaked out and began lecturing furiously until Kevin sauntered over and planted a sloppy kiss on his lips.

Kevin pulled back and said "Chill. It's only been in there since I came home this afternoon. You're not gonna die." Edd's face was still flushed and he muttered, "That's not very amusing, Kevin." The jock shrugged as he dug in the cabinets to find the spices for the meat and said "It made me laugh. By the way, you can find the soda boxes in the cabinet underneath the sink. Just open them all and dump them in the cooler." Edd huffed and stuck his tongue out at Kevin's retreating back.

Even though Edd knew that Kevin wanted him to work quickly, he found himself organizing the soda cans in the cooler and breaking down the cardboard boxes so they fit neatly in the trash can. He could hear other people's voices outside chatting and he could smell the meat on the barbeque, so he knew it was about time.

He struggled to drag the heavy cooler out onto the patio and positioned it just so beside the picnic table. After that, he straightened up and turned around to Rolf, who was watching him. "Hello Double D-Edboy, are you here to partake in the celebration of cooking meat outside?"

Edd smiled sheepishly and said "Actually Rolf, I'm hosting the festivities with Kevin." Rolf seemed a bit confused. "You? Helping Kevin? Does Double D-Edboy pull on Rolf's leg?" Edd shook his head, "No, it's true. Kevin was with me earlier and he offered for me to come over and eat dinner, and instead we decided to throw a party for everyone."

Kevin was minding the grill and he watched as Rolf and Edd conversed. From what he gathered, Rolf didn't really believe Edd was helping. Rolf ended up wandering over to Kevin and asked him if Edd was really helping. When Kevin agreed, Rolf was finally satisfied and wandered away to the other kids. Edd came up to Kevin, who told him "Don't worry, I got him off your back." Almost everyone had shown up except Eddy and Ed. Edd was starting to feel a little disheartened when he heard the wooden gate creak open among the noise of chatter and the radio that was playing.

However instead of his two friends, Nat came to the party. He smirked at Edd grabbing him around the shoulders and walked with him. "How's it going, sockhead?" Edd shifted and tried to get loose from Nat's grip and said "How are you, Nat?" Nat walked over to Kevin, with Edd still trapped under his arm and called "Yo Kev, you got a nice shiner on your face."

Remembering the bruises that covered him, Kevin scowled and said "Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black, Nat. Hey listen, I got another favor to ask you. This time, you don't have to kick anyone's ass, unless you want to." Edd jerked and said "Kevin!" Kevin laughed a bit and said "Alright, alright. Anyways, Ed-head's supposed to show up too, but he might cause trouble. If he does, I'm putting you in charge of kicking his ass out."

Nat smirked and said "Whatever, boss. I'm gonna have me a good time, though." He turned to Edd and asked "You wanna hear about the time I kicked Kevin's ass at wrestling?" Kevin glared at Nat's back as Edd tried to pretend he was interested in his story. Everything was going very well for Edd's first party. He listened to Nat's stories, although they were mostly about himself, which got boring after a while, and he managed to chat with the other kids too.

As soon as Kevin called to come get the food, the gate swung open again and in walked Ed and Eddy. Eddy refused to even glance at the sock-headed Ed, and looked around before saying "What a lame party."

Edd sighed and turned back to the plate of food. Nat then straightened up from leaning against the table and said "Is that really how you're gonna thank Kevin for inviting _you_ to one of his parties?" Eddy and Nat glared at each other and Edd nervously asked Kevin, "Nat's not really going to hurt Eddy, is he?"

Kevin shook his head and said "Nah, Nat loves getting into fights. He enjoys making other people look stupid." Edd couldn't help the smirk on his face and said "Sounds about like another person I know." Kevin rolled his eyes and said "Oh, shut up."

Nat apparently had said all he was going to say to Eddy and sauntered back over and slapped an arm around Edd's shoulders yet again and said "Man, I dunno about you, Sockhead but I could use some grub. Why don't you sit with me and I'll tell you about the time I…" He and Edd walked away and Kevin scowled at Nat. What was he doing?

Everyone had made their way to the picnic table to eat their food, except for Eddy and Ed, who just stood leaned against a tree. Edd finally broke away from Nat to go over to them. "Eddy, aren't you going eat with us?" Eddy glared and said "No way, sockhead."

Edd sighed and turned to Ed "Surely you must be hungry, Ed." Ed shook his head and happily exclaimed, "Nope! I just ate my last boat of gravy, Double D." Edd sighed and said "Come now fellows. I wanted you to come enjoy yourselves, and surely standing by a tree the whole time isn't very enjoyable."

Eddy snapped "What's it to you? You're too good for us anyways." Edd shook his head and said "Don't start that again! I told you that I can be friends with whomever I want, and you should respect that." Eddy glared and said "Have it your way, sockhead." He shoved past Edd and walked over to the table and threw himself down on the bench beside Jonny. Ed stood with Edd and asked "Is Eddy okay?" Edd sighed and said "You know Ed, I'm starting to not care any longer if he's okay or not."

The rest of the party was still pretty good. Kevin brought the whole pack into his house and broke out the karaoke machine. Edd was not very good with karaoke and opted to just watch. When Nat wasn't singing, Sarah and Jimmy were. Nazz, who had been there the whole time sang one song, then decided it was time for her to go home. Eddy and Ed remained at the party, but Eddy stayed as far away from Edd as possible.

Around 9:00, Kevin offered to let the kids go swimming, and they all obliged. Everyone had run home to go get their swimming attire and Kevin told them to be back in 20 minutes. Edd helped Kevin clean up the dishes and trash and while they worked, Kevin asked "Is Eddy giving you too much trouble?"

Edd shook his head and stated "No, I was worried about him causing a scene at first but after a while I stopped caring." Kevin nodded and finished taking the trash to the dumpster and said "Come on, let's go sit for a little bit." Edd started, "But Kevin, I need to go get my swimming suit." Kevin smirked and said "You can borrow one of mine."

Kevin led him up to his room and when they were in, Kevin closed the door and stated "Take off your clothes." Edd's eyes widened and said "I most certainly shall not. This place is unfamiliar!" Kevin was already taking his own clothes off and said "I don't care, just do it." Edd huffed and muttered about how inappropriate it was until Kevin, now fully naked, silenced him with a kiss. As they lip-locked, Kevin started to pull off Edd's shorts.

Edd pulled back in surprise. "Kevin, what are you doing?" Kevin smirked and said "You wouldn't do it, so I decided I would." He slowly pulled the purple shorts down until they slid to Edd's ankles, and reached up to pull off his orange shirt. After a minute, they were both completely undressed, and Kevin turned to his dresser and started to search for his swimming shorts. After finding a couple, he turned back to Edd and gently, he pushed Edd back until he was against his bed.

They kissed once more, Kevin sucking on Edd's lower lip, asking for access to his mouth. Edd obliged and their tongues met and swirled together. Edd let a small noise slip from his throat, and Kevin felt himself growing hard.

Kevin pushed Edd again until Edd topped over onto the bed and yelped in surprise, Kevin leaning down over him. "K-Kevin, I don't want to contaminate your bed!" Kevin ignored him and kissed him again, running a hand over Edd's body. He pulled away and spoke, his lips brushing Edd's with every word. "You were so hot last night…" Edd looked up at Kevin and watched his face. "You were so tight…and so hot…" Kevin brought one knee up to rest on the bed and pushed his hips forward, contacting Edd's. Edd cried out, his face turning red as Kevin continued "Feeling you _squirm_ under me. It was amazing…"

Kevin suppressed his own groan of passion and reached down to grab both of their members together in his hand. With a shudder, he began to pump his hand over both of them, causing Edd to call his name loudly. He writhed underneath Kevin and called his name softly over and over again.

Kevin began moving his hips in time with his hand, and Edd followed suit, the friction between them becoming greater. Kevin finally let a lusty moan escape him as he stopped all of his movements, causing Edd to make a frustrated noise. He leaned down again and whispered to Edd, "Roll over."

Just as Edd did as he was told, someone knocked on Kevin's bedroom door. "Kev? You in there?" It was Nat.

Kevin let a growl quietly escape him and said "Just a sec, Nat." Quickly he stood up and cursed his hard-on. Edd grabbed the red swimming shorts Kevin had left on the bed and slipped them on as Kevin dug for his own pair and threw them up over his hips just as Nat was opening the door.

Kevin then glared and said "Y'know that didn't mean 'come on in'." Nat shrugged and glanced at a sweaty Edd, who was perched on the side of the bed awkwardly.

Nat scratched his head and said, "Oh…Sorry bro…" Kevin shook his head and said "It's alright, we're coming." Nat exited the room and slowly, Edd and Kevin followed suit, trying to calm themselves down.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 11 is here! I'd like to say real quick that I have NO idea how to make Ed's character seem believable. It's just that he's such a loose-cannon that you have no idea what he'd say in some situations, especially like the ones I put him in in this chapter. I tried my hardest, but if he doesn't seem like lumpy Ed to you, sorry.

* * *

The pool party was almost better than the cookout. The sun had just gone down, but it's orange hue and purple clouds were still hanging low in the sky. Kevin had flipped on the pool house lights and almost everyone showed back up except for Nazz, Eddy and Ed, which wasn't too much of a loss for Edd right now. Though he was upset at the way Eddy had acted, he just decided that if Eddy couldn't be happy for him, then Edd couldn't care less about him either. Nazz also wasn't that much of a surprise, still Edd felt guilty that he took Kevin's affections from her although Kevin insisted that he didn't.

The sock-headed Ed wasn't quite ready to get in the cold water and settled down on the side and splashed his feet in the crystal clear liquid. Jonny had come up beside him and put Plank down and told Edd that Plank had just ate and couldn't get in for a while. Edd smiled at Jonny. Imaginary friend or not, the kid was still a good friend to others. Kevin was in line with the other kids to get on the diving board. After Nat had walked in on them, Edd hadn't much to say to Kevin after that. Kevin knew it was because of embarrassment, and he had to admit that he didn't feel too much better about the situation.

The very kid that had ruined their moment made his way up to Kevin's side and muttered, "So, did you boys have a good time?" Kevin glared at Nat and said flatly "I don't know what you're talking about." Nat laughed and said "Please, I heard you guys in there." He brought his hands together in front of his chest and mocked Edd's voice "Oh, Kevin…Kevin!"

The ginger felt the blood rushing to his cheeks and he hissed "I'm gonna give you three seconds to get away from me." Nat laughed and said "Chill out boss. Just trying to get you to loosen up." Kevin snorted and said "Whatever, just leave Double Dork out of it. He's already taking it pretty hard." The two glanced at Edd, to see him still perched on the side of the pool watching the other kids swim. Nat shook his head and said "I won't tease him." He quickly butted in front of Kevin and jumped up on the diving board. Before Kevin could say anything Nat had already backflipped into the pool.

Edd peeked at Kevin and Nat talking and tried to keep from blushing. He can't believe Nat had walked in on them, and almost caught them in the act. He decided it would be safer for them to continue their relationship in privacy, when the others weren't going to be around. He watched as his boyfriend cannonballed into the water and couldn't help the smile that graced his lips. Kevin was so much more athletic than he would ever be.

He watched Kevin's dark figure under the surface as it moved around. He was so fast, thanks to those rock-hard muscles of his. Kevin swam over to his side of the pool and re-surfaced, and Sarah and Jimmy were calling out praises to him. Everything about Kevin was the exact opposite of himself, which made their relationship so much more interesting.

Jonny was still swimming in Edd's area, apparently listening to Plank and talking back. The shiny bald head of his was apparent wherever he swam. He popped up near Edd's feet, which he immediately retracted out of the water and away from Jonny's head. The bald kid smiled wholly and said "Plank wants to know why you're staring at Kevin so much."

Edd swallowed the lump in his throat and gave Jonny a weak smile and said "Oh…um, no reason really. Just observing Kevin's…um…swimming capabilities." Jonny continued to smile at him and after a moment he replied, "Plank thinks there's more than that. He thinks you _like_ Kevin!" The boy giggled as he talked. Edd felt his face flush slightly and quickly said "Oh no. Nothing like that. I'm only watching Kevin and comparing his abilities to…um…Nat's. They both seem to be outdoing each other."

Jonny seemed to take the bait and turned to look at Nat, who sure enough was having fun showing off to Jimmy and Sarah as Kevin was swimming on the other end of the pool with Rolf. Jonny laughed and said "So maybe you like Kevin _and_ Nat!" Edd knew his entire face was beat red by then and he exclaimed "Jonny that's ridiculous! It would be best if you…er…Plank, get those kinds of thoughts out of your mind! That's rather unhealthy, don't you think?"

Jonny shrugged and said "Whatever you say Double D! C'mon Plank. You've waited long enough." Edd gave a deep sigh of relief as Jonny took his wooden friend and went off. What an unbelievable statement. Although he admired Nat for other reasons, there was no way he could like Nat enough to have a relationship as he liked Kevin, even as sudden as those feelings were.

Fortunately he could see Kevin making his way over to him. The jock slid up onto the side of the pool with him and asked him, "Is Quirky giving you a hard time?" Edd shook his head and replied "No, not really. Although according to him, Plank is very suspicious of me." Kevin looked down at the water and kicked his feet and asked, "Why should he be suspicious?" Edd bit his lip and said "They've been watching me watch you." Kevin seemed to forget the whole situation and with a smirk, he said "Watching me, huh?"

The blush Edd thought he was starting to lose came right back. "Um, yes…" Kevin playfully flexed his arms and torso in front of his boyfriend and said "Couldn't resist the ol' Kev-mister could you?" Edd chuckled and said "You're a very skilled athlete." Kevin smirked and said "Thanks, I work hard for what I've got, but it'd be nice to have someone to share the pool with."

Edd was confused by that, and turned to Kevin. "Share the pool? Are we not hosting a pool party for the rest of the cul-de-sac?" Kevin laughed and said "You know what I'm talking about." He rested his hand on the square of Edd's back, who jumped at the slight touch and said "K-Kevin, we shouldn't be doing this in front of-" Kevin never let him finish, instead gave him a solid shove off of the pool's edge into the water.

Edd re-surfaced immediately and cried out at Kevin as the other kids laughed at him. "K-Kevin! W-What was the p-purpose of t-that? This water's f-freezing!" Kevin grinned and pushed off into the water as well. Edd scowled at Kevin as he drew near and said "T-This is NOT amusing!" Kevin's grin never faltered as he pulled his arm back. Edd froze to the spot, thinking he did something wrong and Kevin was about to hit him. "Kev-"

He never got the word out as Kevin swept his arm across the water and sent a wave straight into Edd's body. Edd yelped as the cold rushed over him. Kevin's laughter among the other kids' rang in his ears. At first Edd didn't know if he should be furious or laughing with him. But when he looked at Kevin and saw the happiness in his smile and the twinkle in his eye, he couldn't help but to laugh in response. He used both his hands to splash Kevin back, and soon the whole group joined them, splashing water every which way they could.

Edd didn't quite remember exactly who caused the splash but in that following moment a giant wave of water hit him square in the head and took his hat right off with it before he could even register that he had been splashed. Time seemed to slow way down as his emotions flared up and switched from surprise, to annoyance, to panic, then to shame as he slowly opened his eyes. It seemed everyone had seen what had just happened because all eyes were trained on his head, on that disgusting hideous scar of his. Their eyes burned into his skin and although it was quiet, he heard Nat in the back mutter "Whoa…" That word pounded in his ear drums. Whoa, indeed… That's all he had ever said himself whenever he took the hat off in front of the mirror and looked at it.

Embarrassed tears burned in his eyes as he turned to grab his hat, which floated limply in the water behind him and slapped his over his head, making his way to the side of the pool to get away from the prying eyes. Kevin tried to grab his arm and stop him. "Wait...Edd…" Even at Kevin's use of his real name he didn't listen this time and instead climbed out of the pool and ran into Kevin's house while the others just stared after him.

Kevin's initial reaction was anger, to turn around and demand to know the person who did it, to beat them within an inch of their life. Something told him however that he needed to relax, for Edd's sake. He turned a glare to the rest of the kids and after looking at all of them, he growled "What are you staring at?" The kids all looked at each other before they started talking amongst themselves. "Did you see it?" "It was so big!" "Wasn't that gross?" "No wonder he wears that hat."

Kevin had enough of this nonsense and loudly exclaimed "Alright, alright. We get it. He's got a scar. Big deal." The kids were only quiet for a second before they started to chatter again. Poor naïve Jimmy came up to Kevin and asked "Jeepers, Double D's head is so torn up, isn't it?" Kevin glared darkly and he let loose an angry roar. "THAT IS ENOUGH! EVERYONE OUT. NOW."

The kids scattered like cockroaches, clambering out of the pool. Soon Kevin and Nat were the only ones there. Kevin glared at the teal-haired boy and said "You too, Nat. _Out_." Nat put his hands up defensively and said "Hey man, I'm just as worried about the dork as you are." Kevin ignored him and climbed out of the water himself and growled "Get lost before I give you a ride on the end of my foot." Nat shook his head and retorted "Alright jeezus. Don't shit a brick, Kev. See you Monday."

Kevin quickly hustled down the hall to his room but found no one there. He paused for a moment then heard sounds coming from his bathroom further down. He walked over to it and rested his hand on the doorknob for a moment. Slowly he turned it and pushed the door open. He stood in the doorway and found Edd sitting on the side of the bathtub hands folded in his lap and tears streaking across his face.

Kevin came in and pulled the door shut behind him. Edd stated quickly "Please I don't want to discuss what happened." Kevin shook his head and replied "You won't have to. I sent them away, it's just you and me." He came over to the tub and sat down beside Edd, and pulled his shaking figure into a warm embrace. Edd quickly wiped his cheeks and said "I'm so embarrassed."

Kevin looked down at Edd and felt nothing but regret about the whole situation. He managed to pull a smile and reached down to tilt Edd's face up to his. "About what? That old thing?" He motioned to the right of Edd's forehead. "You should never be ashamed of something like that. It's just part of you." Edd looked deeply into Kevin's eyes seemingly trying to find an answer. "In fact, if I got to choose between you with or without the scar, I'd choose with every time." Kevin gently kissed the spot on Edd's hat the covered the large discolored portion of his head.

Edd smiled brightly, probably brighter than he ever had in the time that they'd been together. He hugged Kevin tightly, or as tightly as he could anyways, his eyes closed but that smile still present. Kevin returned the embrace and muttered in his ear, "I never got to share a swim with you." Edd's eyes flew back open and he looked up at Kevin. Before he could even protest, Kevin had pulled him up by the arm and was walking him down the hall.

When they got back out to the pool, Kevin stopped and let go of Edd. He walked over to the edge and jumped in. Edd was not so brave however, and walked over to the ladder and slowly climbed in. He stood in the water shivering for a moment, before coming over to Kevin. The athlete grabbed him in a tight embrace and kissed him. While they treaded water and lip-locked Kevin's hand snaked up Edd's back and rested on the back of his head. He gripped the black ski cap firmly and quickly pulled it from the other's head.

Edd's eyes flew open and his immediate reaction was to rip away from Kevin and try to reach up to his hat, which Kevin kept out of his grasp, a smile upon his lips. Edd whined and complained about it until Kevin kissed him harshly. Edd took this moment to wrap his arms around Kevin's shoulders. When he pulled back, Edd was silent, his lips swelling from the kiss. Kevin rested his forehead against Edd's and murmured "You look sexy without it." What was left of the heat in Edd's body rushed up to his cheeks and he stuttered his thanks. Kevin tossed the hat away, not caring where it landed and returned his hands onto Edd's body. "We never got to finish what we started earlier."

At his whisper, Edd shivered in delight. This time he was the one to kiss Kevin, which both surprised and pleased the ginger. Kevin opened his mouth and allowed a shy Edd to slide his tongue over to meet his own. Kevin slowly ran his hands down Edd's back memorizing every inch of skin, every goosebump, and every bump and curve of his body. As he rested his hands on the hem of Edd's swimming trunks, Edd suddenly pulled away and looked off to the right. Kevin looked at him then turned to see what he was seeing.

It was none other than big Ed, standing there shuffling his feet and looking rather afraid. The two boys ripped away and Edd calmly started, "Ed! What on earth are you doing here?" Ed looked at the sockhead but didn't reply with an answer, instead he seemed to droop a little and replied, "You and Kevin are together. Like Sarah and Jimmy. But they are only two and not three. So does that mean no more hanging out with Ed and Eddy, Double D?" Edd quickly left Kevin's side and climbed out of the pool and crossed over to Ed. "No that's not what it means at all Ed. Just because Kevin and I are companions doesn't mean that you and Eddy aren't." Ed perked up a little and said "So then does Kevin like us now?"

Kevin, who was sitting on the edge of the pool snorted and said "In your dreams, dork." Edd turned and gave Kevin a scowl. "Kevin…" Kevin sighed and said "Alright alright. I'll give you one chance, lumpy. But forget me being friends with Eddy, cuz that's not happening." Ed grinned brightly and hugged his sock-headed friend tightly. The smell of body odor and rotting food would have been too much for Edd if he hadn't dealt with it the last few years of his life, instead held his breath and patted Ed on the shoulder. Ed then ran over and gave Kevin a huge bear hug, which Kevin did not return, a sour look upon his face. Edd only giggled at the two as Ed pulled away and turned back to Edd. The sockhead smiled and said "Go home and get some rest, Ed. I will be with you tomorrow." That was enough for Ed, and he happily galloped out of Kevin's yard with a call of "See you tomorrow, guys!"

Edd turned back to Kevin, who stood up and said "Well that's twice now. Guess it's a sign that I can't have you tonight." Edd merely chuckled and said "Well, that's okay Kevin. I am perfectly happy waiting until another time." Kevin nodded and replied "Well then you wanna watch a movie?"

The two spent a fair amount of time together watching movies, eating popcorn and joking around together for the evening before Edd decided it was time to go home. Kevin had walked him to the door and had just leaned in to give him a goodnight kiss. When they parted, he said "You down for hanging out tomorrow?" Edd thought for a moment then said "We can at some point, but first I must do the homework I didn't get finished last night and you heard me promise Ed that I would hang out with him, too." Kevin nodded and said "You can bring the lump too if you want." Edd was positively radiating happiness as he kissed Kevin again. "Oh thank you Kevin! You have no idea how much that means to me."

Kevin smirked and said "Yeah alright. Go get some sleep, Double dweeb." Edd hurried across the street to his own home, even happier than he ever had been these past couple days. He was afraid that Kevin would reject his friends and that Eddy would try and tear him away from Kevin. As long as Kevin would keep an open mind, he felt that they could make it work.

* * *

I'll probably work on/finish Chapter 12 and have it up tomorrow. I'm just so tired tonight. I'll get it posted by either Sunday afternoon or evening. Hang in there with me, I'm trying real hard to make it a good story. Hope you guys are having as much fun as I am!


	11. Chapter 11

The weekend passed as they all do and soon, the Monday morning bell was chiming loudly in the cul-de-sac children's ears once again. The halls were overrun with the constant stream of students and teachers alike. Edd was standing at his locker gathering the materials he needed when he saw Eddy and Ed round the corner. As usual, Ed sidled up to Edd with his large horse-teeth smile ever present. "Double D! I can tie my shoes!" Edd smiled and started to reply just as Eddy happened to be passing by, hands shoved in his pockets and staring straight forward uninterestedly. He cut Edd off by glancing over at them and retorting, "Yeah yeah, looks just like the knot in your head, Lumpy. Let's go, stop wasting time with him."

By now Edd was fed up with the constant aggressiveness and abuse both he and Ed received from their "leader", regardless of whether or not he was on Eddy's good side. For once he was going to do something about it, and he straightened up and as fiercely as Edd could be, he stated "Excuse me Eddy, but I believe Ed here is entitled to speak to and or, as you put it 'waste his time' with whomever he wants."

Just as Edd guessed, Eddy ignored him and kept walking away. Ed looked between Eddy's retreating back and Edd who was standing there with his arms crossed glowering after him. "Is Eddy ever gonna be okay, Double D?" Edd's face softened and he let his arms go and turned to give his large, unintelligent friend a pat on the shoulder and said optimistically "Don't you worry about Eddy, Ed. You just think about what makes _you_ happy. Eddy will come around eventually." Ed grinned in response.

Just then, the usual crowd of athletes and jocks filed down their hall and all came around to their lockers. The sockhead pleaded with Ed to stay with him a while longer for backup in case those two brutes came around. Luckily for him, those two did not show their faces, however Kevin was among the mass and made his way over to his locker, which was directly across the hall from Edd's. Edd made eye contact with Kevin, who simply nodded to him before turning and digging in his locker.

Edd dismissed his lumpy friend, who galloped off in a hurry, and shut his locker. Though he and Kevin were together, he was terrified of approaching the jock in the halls of the school for fear that someone might have a problem with that. He could never forgive himself if he was the reason that someone picked a fight with Kevin. Just as this thought ran through his head, Kevin shut his own locker and turned to walk over to Edd. Edd gave him the usual gap-toothed grin and Kevin returned his smile. "Hey dork, I've got some news for ya."

Kevin glanced over to the rest of his group to see that Nazz had their attention for the moment, and for which he was grateful. Edd reached up and adjusted the strap of his shoulder bag and said "What would that be, Kevin?" Well it wasn't exactly great news, Peach Creek was coming up on the regional basketball tournament. That news itself wasn't the bad part, what made it so depressing was that their coach had upped practices from the weekday afternoons to weekday mornings, afternoons, Saturday morning and Sunday evening for the next week.

Kevin shoved his hands in his pockets and said "I won't be around to see you much this week. Coach says we need more practice, so I will be busy most days before and after school and on weekends now too." He could see Edd physically wilt at this news and he replied "Oh…well that's what our team will need to triumph at regionals...but…" Kevin finished for him, "It sucks for _us_." Edd nodded, those words exactly what he was thinking.

Kevin tried to cheer him up. "Hey, that doesn't mean I won't ever see you. You're always welcome to eat lunch at my table." Edd fidgeted slightly. "That's where all of your teammates are…those two ruffians…" Kevin shook his head vigorously. "Nah I'm kicking their asses somewhere else. Nobody's gonna beat up on my dork then think I'm gonna let them share the same eating space as me." Edd cracked a smile at that, a small one, but a smile nonetheless and said "Well I'm honored Kevin. I will join you today."

Kevin grinned back at him and said "Cool man, I'll talk to you at lunch then." As the jock turned to walk back to his group of friends, he reached out of his pocket and quickly grabbed one of Edd's butt cheeks in a playful manner, which elicited a high-pitched squeak out of the taller boy.

Edd couldn't help the giddy feeling in his heart that bubbled to the surface every time Kevin touched him. At first he had been very reserved about the whole situation, but seeing that Kevin wanted to include him in his group of friends made Edd feel more relaxed about their relationship in public. Of course he would never tell anyone what their real relationship was, he was quite content with letting people believe they were just friends and he was sure Kevin felt the same.

Literature that morning was rather uneventful. There was a chapter test, but that was the last thing on his mind. During the quiet hour, all Edd could think about was Kevin in his bedroom and how gentle he had been. How amazing it was to feel Kevin's mouth taking his manhood all the way in. He shuddered, his hand slipping and leaving a faint line of lead across his test. How caring Kevin had been, begging him to say if being taken hurt him too much. It honestly hadn't hurt at all until that following morning.

Secretly, Edd felt a little relief when Nat had interrupted them on Saturday night. Even today, when he sat upon a hard chair, he couldn't help but wince. Kevin was quite a big larger than Edd had initially thought, so it would take a while before he was ready to fool around with him again.

His thoughts were so trained on Friday night that he almost forgot what the ringing bell meant. Luckily his hands worked while he daydreamed and his test had long been finished by the time class was over. After Literature came Mathematics. Edd also shared this class with Kevin and Anna, but the purple-haired girl wasn't in class that day. As Edd noticed this when he took his usual role of the class in his head, he decided to take it upon himself to bring her the homework from her classes she would miss. He didn't try to memorize her schedule but after many weeks of class, one can't help but to just know by heart where all of one's friends are at each point in the day.

In this class Kevin sat far in the back of the class while Edd sat attentively in the first row. As Kevin made his way around the desks and passed Edd, he playfully poked the sockhead in the ribs, which made the latter jump. During the class however, Edd tried his hardest to focus on his work instead of Kevin. Not only was Kevin constantly plaguing his mind, but those two kids Todd and Jackson shared the class with them. They had come in later after himself and Kevin, and plopped down in their usual seats and sent him death glares since the lesson began. Though they sat far away from Edd, he could feel their heat piercing the side of his head.

Once during the hour Edd had to stand up and retrieve a tissue from the teacher's desk. As he stood near the doorway over the trash, he chanced a glance at the two thugs. To his utter surprise they weren't glaring at him, but back at Kevin, who was obviously ignoring them. A little seed of worry planted itself in Edd's mind. Surely those two had taken some harsh words from Kevin before and although being beat up does leave an imprint on one's mind they couldn't possibly be thinking of challenging Kevin again?

As Edd crossed back to his seat their glares returned to him. Even though it wasn't a good thing, Edd felt a little better that they weren't glaring at Kevin anymore. For the last few minutes of the class, Edd stayed at his desk staring at his homework and worrying about all the possible things those two could have been thinking.

The morning hours passed by without anything else occurring and it was 11:45 and almost lunch time when Edd was finally finishing up shredding old files. Even though it was his most favorite class of the day, Edd could not find the enjoyment in it. Everything was just another task for his hands to accomplish while his brain thought long and hard about Kevin and what those two boys would do at basketball practice. He knew he had to make sure Kevin knew those boys were up to no good and that he had a plan to deal with them. It was obvious that mere acts of violence weren't going to stop their hatred of him and Kevin's fondness of him.

Ten minutes flew by and Edd found himself walking down the hall to the lunch room. Since the nurse's office was on the other side of the building, he wasn't surprised to find that Kevin and his friends were already going through the line. Edd waited his turn and watched as the Todd and Jackson went to sit at their usual spots at Kevin's table. Fear reared its ugly head as Edd turned to see Kevin with Nat and Nazz making their way over to the table. Kevin's face turned to pure disgust as he laid eyes on the two that were already sitting down. Even across the lunch room and gathering his food, Edd cowered in fear. He was expecting a fight to break out and as he watched Kevin confront the two, he turned his attention back to the food.

After a few minutes of nothing but lunchroom chatter, he slowly glanced behind him to see that there was no fight. Instead, those two had cleared off as Kevin had commanded and Kevin was seated with Nat and the others. Edd breathed a sigh of relief and picked up his lunch tray and made his way over to Kevin.

When Kevin saw him, he immediately pulled out the chair beside him and allowed Edd to sit down. The others stared at him, and he meekly stammered "G-Greetings everyone." Nat grinned widely and said "Well if it ain't the sock-headed Einstein." Nazz smiled at Edd, though he could tell it was rather forced, and said "What's up Double D?"

As Edd settled, one of the other athletes dared to speak up. "Since when do we let brainiacs sit with us?" Kevin snapped his attention over to him and growled "You gotta problem with him?" Immediately, the other shook his head and sputtered a 'nope'. Kevin scowled at him for a minute before returning his attention to the others. Edd remained quiet and ate his food as Kevin and the others conversed and when they laughed, he forced a chuckle and when they were talking about something serious, he tried to look focused. He happened to look over to see those two brutes sitting across the lunchroom, though they were rather occupied at the moment because the Kankers had decided to join them.

A hand rested itself on Edd's thigh under the table and his attention was brought to Kevin, who was looking at him with concern. "You okay Double D?" His voice was low and soft. Edd knew that Kevin saw who he was looking at, and he also knew he couldn't lie to Kevin. "I-I need to speak to you privately before your practice today."

Kevin nodded and muttered back, "Hang on a sec." He released his grip on Edd's thigh and stood up. He stood up with his half-eaten tray of food and said firmly as if announcing it, "C'mon, Double dork. Walk with me." Edd didn't need to be told twice, and grabbed his own tray. He shuffled after Kevin, mindful of the eyes that followed them. Not only was Kevin's friends staring, but a table over, he could see Eddy glaring after them too.

As they stood in front of the trash can Kevin half-heartedly threw his food away and looked to Todd and Jackson. "So what's up?" Edd carefully deposited his garbage in the bin and took his tray over to the window and set it down. "I'm sure that you noticed their glares during Literature." Kevin nodded and waited for him to continue. "I am afraid that they may try to challenge you once again during practice." Kevin shrugged and said "Okay?" Edd huffed and said "It may not be a big deal for _you_, but I just don't wish to be the reason for your team to revolt against you. I'm worried for your safety and for your authority as team captain."

Edd hadn't realized that they both had been walking as he spoke until Kevin leaned against a locker and said "Don't worry your head off, princess. Even if my team doesn't like the things I do in my own life, they don't have a say about my position as team captain. The coach put me there and if they don't listen to me, they gotta deal with him." Edd bit his lip and said "I understand it's just that…" He stepped forward and dared to put his arms around Kevin and said "I don't want them to hurt you again."

Kevin was stunned at Edd's sudden boldness but it made him happy to know that Edd wasn't ashamed of their relationship. He gently hugged Edd back and whispered, "What do you think I worry about every time someone makes a comment towards you? It's you I worry about. Do you think I don't know what goes on when I'm not around? I know how these guys' brains work because I _am_ one of them. I just want to protect you, Double dweeb." Edd looked into Kevin's eyes, those blue eyes that he could lose himself in. Kevin released him from their secret hug and reached a hand up to touch his jawline briefly. Edd gave him some space and mumbled, "You're better than them, Kevin. I honestly believe you are a better person than them."

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Bahhh abrupt endings are the worst. :/ Sorry about that, but I wanted to separate this part of the story from the next chapter and that was the only decent place to do it. I plan to continue chapter 13 and have it up soon!


	12. Chapter 12

This chapter's is mainly about Kevin. There's a little bit of trouble and a little fluff. I wrote this chapter while listening to Gin Blossoms' Hey Jealousy. If you've heard that song, I give you a high five. If you haven't, you should. It kinda goes with the end of the chapter.

I also would like to say that I appreciate every review and every favorite. You guys are the reason I kept going on this story, so thank you so much!

**I don't own Ed Edd n Eddy or Nat, just this story!**

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The afternoon passed quickly and soon the clock struck three, and it was time to practice. Edd declined sitting in on practice for fear that the others would make him feel unwanted. Kevin wanted to say goodbye, but by the time he shut his locker and turned to say it, Edd was already walking down the hall with Anna and Ed. He shook his head and walked down the hall to the gym, thoughts of the sockhead filled his mind. After he had changed, Nat showed up and they were warming up together when the rest of the team joined them. They all warmed up together and when Kevin stretched out and commanded them to start running, all but Todd and Jackson started.

Kevin glared at them for a minute, anger beginning to course through his mind. He shouted out at them, "What are you pussies waiting for? Let's go!" Todd crossed his arms and said "Not doing anything, cap." The blood pounded in Kevin's ears and he gritted his teeth for a moment before he started walking towards them. Though they were stubborn and pigheaded, the two boys could tell when their captain was not happy. They looked to each other for a moment, but stood their ground as Kevin came up to them. Neither Todd or Jackson were much taller than Kevin nor were they as strong so when Kevin brought his arms up and shoved Jackson backwards onto the bleachers, neither of them fought back. Kevin rounded on Jackson, "Why in the _hell_ are you disobeying my orders, you dumbass?"

Todd then stepped forward and said "Well cap, we're starting to wonder if you're _man enough_ to be our captain anymore." Kevin turned on him dangerously. He straightened up, cracked his knuckles and said "I got half a mind to just whip your ass now, but why don't you humor me Todd. Say that again and this time, think about who you're saying it to." Todd brought his face mere inches from Kevin's and said "You talk pretty damn tough for someone who hangs around spineless, pathetic losers. We all think so." He motioned behind Kevin, who turned to see almost half the team standing around them, all nodding in agreement.

Nat managed to break through the crowd and came to Kevin's side and said, "What the hell does it matter to you guys who the boss hangs out with on his own time? How has that got anything to do with our team?" Jackson stood up from the bleachers and said "If the captain wants people to respect our team, he's gonna have to do a better job holdin' up our rep! That nerd ain't gonna help us in any way!" Kevin turned to Jackson and said "So what you're saying is you just want a good reputation?" The team all nodded in and mumbled their agreements. Kevin forced a smirk at all of them before he said, "I'll give y'all a rep you won't forget." In one swift movement he whipped around and punched Todd in the eye. The rest just watched in shock as the boy crashed down onto the wooden floor holding his face.

Kevin wheeled on the rest of them and said "Anyone else wanna say anything, meet me outside after practice." The rest of the team backed up and Nat said "Guys, you know better than to piss the captain off. Don't be stupid, just do what he says." Kevin then ordered them to get back to running just as the coach was coming in with a clipboard of the regional bracket. As the rest of the team was going over to see the bracket, Kevin turned and kneeled down by Todd and hissed, "If you, or your bitch over, there ever screw with me _or_ the dork again, you're dead."

The threat seemed to finally pierce the two brutes' thick skulls because they did their best to avoid Kevin the rest of practice and afterwards, made themselves scarce. During the practice, Kevin worked harder than he ever had before, mostly out of rage. He made every basket he shot, he blocked the offense better than any wall could, and intercepted the ball perfectly over and over again. By the end of practice, nobody could say that the captain was distracted or that he was off his game. There was so much praise for him from their coach it was almost as if Kevin were a basketball god.

As the sweaty team hit the showers, Nat came up to Kevin and said "Man, you're such a beast! The team's scared shitless." Kevin snorted and said "I just need them to keep their shit together long enough to get through regionals and state. Then I couldn't give less of a fuck what happens to them."

The team all jumped into the showers, except for Nat and Kevin who sat and waited. After maybe 10 or 15 minutes the rest of the team all filed out and went to the locker rooms to change. The two boys stepped into the showers and stripped down. As Kevin turned on his shower, he heard Nat speak again, "So let me ask you something. Are you and Double D screwing yet?" Kevin was startled, and jumped at the question. He recomposed himself and said, "Do you even hear yourself, dude?"

Nat chuckled in his own shower and said "Yeah, I hear myself asking you if you and the dork did it yet." Kevin tried his best to avoid Nat's questions and said "Whatever dude." Nat kept prying at him though, "Oh c'mon, I know you guys are more than friends. Don't forget I almost walked in on you the other night." Kevin growled to himself, remembering having to endure the painfulness of his hard-on after Nat had so graciously invited himself into the room just as he and Edd were about to go at it. "That's enough, Goldberg. You're starting to piss me off." Nat laughed and said "Just answer the question and I'll leave you alone. Yes or no?"

Kevin stepped out of the showers with Nat right on his heels. "C'mon boss. Just tell me. You can trust me. I won't tell the team." Finally Kevin snapped. "ALRIGHT. YES WE ARE, HAPPY?!" Nat grinned cheekily and said "More than happy. That's great to hear boss, I always liked that nerd." Kevin rolled his eyes and gathered his stuff. By the time practice and showers were over it was almost 6:30. Though his legs were sore, he knew if he pedaled on his bike fast enough he could be back to the cul-de-sac before dark and maybe go see Edd.

As he made his way home, his legs protested every pedal. He cursed to himself and thought about how he couldn't wait until this summer when he turned 16 and his parents would let him get a motorcycle. He jumped over a curb and turned down the street where the cul-de-sac laid itself out ahead of him. He could remember just last week biking down this very road in the rain when he had found Edd walking, completely soaked. A smile came to his face when he thought about how shy Edd had been about holding onto him and how afterwards he told Kevin that he smelled nice. Kevin let a small chuckle slip from his throat. Picking Edd up that day was probably the best choice he'd ever made.

As soon as he pulled into his driveway and put his bike and his things away, he stepped back out into the evening air and made his way across the cul-de-sac over to Edd's house. As he walked down the sidewalk, he noticed that all the lights were completely out and the house was dark inside, which concerned him mildly. Stepping up onto the porch, he noticed a square piece of paper stuck to the door and a small smile curved his lips as he plucked the piece of paper off the glass and read it.

_Kevin,_

_I had a feeling you would attempt to come over after practice, but I am at Ed's house with him and Eddy. Eddy wanted to talk to me and I couldn't refuse, you know._

_See you tomorrow –Edd_

Kevin frowned a bit and crumpled up the note in his hand. Although he was disappointed he knew how much Edd cared about that idiot. Turning and making his way back across the cul-de-sac he happened to glance down the road at Ed and Sarah's house. To his surprise most of the lights were off there too. He stopped in the middle of the road and started to think. Surely Ed-head wasn't doing anything to the sockhead. So why would all the lights be off? And wasn't Sarah home?

Kevin shoved his hands in his pocket and started walking towards the house. He figured it wouldn't hurt to just look and see if they were actually in the house. The streetlight above him suddenly flashed to life with a click as he passed beneath it, making him jump in surprise. '_C'mon man._' He told himself, '_You're acting like a baby. Suck it up, go check the house and then go home. Easy as that._'

As he made his way around the fence that divided properties, he felt a wave of relief to see that the basement light of the house was still on, which meant the Eds were in the house. Quickly he walked over to the window and knelt down to look in and saw Ed on the floor, comic books scattered all around him and Eddy and Edd were standing together in another corner of the room. As he looked at Edd, he could see that he wasn't crying, nor had any wounds inflicted upon him, save for the light purple shade around his eye from Friday. Relief filled Kevin's mind to see that he and Eddy were actually talking and there wasn't any shouting involved. Straightening himself up, he turned and made his way back towards his house. As long as Edd was happy and not being tormented, he could rest easy.

The next day Kevin was up at 6am. After his shower and a quick breakfast, he quickly gathered up all his stuff and made his way to the garage to get his bike. He hadn't slept all too well and was in a rather foul mood that morning. His old man happened to be out on the porch smoking while he was getting ready to leave, and after a brief, harsh exchange of words Kevin departed in a very sour state. His old man knew nothing of early morning practices and accused Kevin of sneaking off with "that blonde girl down the street".

Kevin started speeding off down the street, little did he know that a certain hat-loving boy had just come out of his house as well, spotted him leaving and was hustling after him. As he jumped the bike up onto the curb he thought he heard his name but a quick look around him told him that he was only hearing things. Not that it mattered because he wasn't in the mood to talk today anyways. The team had it coming when he got there; he wasn't going to take any bullshit.

Kevin wouldn't have been in such a foul mood if his body wasn't so sore from practices. That fight last week gave him a bad knee, as that Todd kid had kicked his knee in, and well the running and jumping at practice was aggravating his wounds. He maybe got a solid 4 hours of sleep, but that was all. The rest of the night he was tossing and turning, trying to get the discomfort out of his body. He turned down the main road, his wheels flying over the sidewalk, not knowing that his boyfriend had just cut through the alley and was about to meet him head on. As he neared the alley, he swore he heard feet running across the gravel but didn't think to slow down until it was too late.

Time seemed to slow way down as out of the freaking blue, Edd came flying around the corner and Kevin shouted out his name, but could not stop in time. What only took about 0.2 seconds in reality felt like an hour to Kevin as he tried to jerk his bike handles and steer out of the way, but instead of that the bike just tipped over altogether. Kevin and his bike sailed right into Edd and they all toppled over in a mess and skidded across the sidewalk as both boys' bags flew open and papers scattered.

Kevin groaned in both pain and frustration and pushed off of Edd and sat up. Looking around at the damage, he saw all of his textbooks and homework scattered and worst of all, the front tire of his bicycle was bent. His eyes widened as he quickly stood his bike up and inspected the tire. Edd sat up behind him and quietly muttered, "Oh dear…"

Normally Kevin would have just been mad, but he wouldn't have done what he was about to do but since his body now screamed in pain and his mood stank more than Ed's inner coat pockets, he completely lost it. He whipped around and glared at Edd, in that moment he couldn't distinguish between friend and loser. He bellowed at Edd, "What the _HELL_ were you doing, Double dweeb?!" Edd stuttered for a moment trying to answer, but Kevin didn't let him finish. "Look at what you did to my bike! God, don't you even _think_ before you just come out of nowhere?" He turned and pulled the kick stand out and rested the bike against a mailbox nearby.

When he turned back he found Edd on his hands and knees, trying to gather up his bag and papers for him. He snatched his bag out of his grasp and said "Don't bother. I'll do it." Edd pulled back and just sat on his bottom, wringing his hands. Kevin angrily picked up his things and shoved them back in his bag. "You know for someone so _intelligent_, you really are a dumbass." Edd said nothing in return.

When he thought he finally had all of his things he stood up and right as soon as he did, his bag ripped open and all his things fell back out. "God dammit!" He threw his useless bag into the street and pointed at Edd. "This is all your fault!"

Edd looked to be near tears and he stammered, "I-I'm sorry Kevin." Kevin brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose and he made a frustrated noise. Edd crept forward as Kevin stood there shaking in rage and impatience. When Kevin finally reopened his eyes, Edd was standing before him, holding his things. "I j-just wanted to see you before p-practice. I n-never meant for this to h-happen." Kevin's rage melted away as he watched Edd stand so helpless before him. He had been a real jerk and he knew it.

Gently he took his things and set them on the concrete beside his broken bike. He turned back and walked over to Edd, who backed away from him in fear. It killed Kevin to watch Edd cower from him. He continued to advance on Edd until finally the boy just turned away and flinched, waiting for the punch. Instead, Kevin took hold of his arms and pulled him into a gentle hug. Edd opened his eyes up and pulled back in confusion to look at Kevin. The jock pushed his forehead against the other's as he liked to do. "Are you hurt at all?"

Edd was obviously lost by now, expecting Kevin to beat him up then storm off. He shook his head and hesitantly he mumbled, "I-I am fine…" Kevin nudged Edd's nose with his own and said "That's all that matters to me. I'm sorry for being such a douche. It hasn't been the best morning."

Edd was silent, and only looked back at him. He still wouldn't reach out and touch him back, and that stung. Kevin closed the distance between their lips and stole a gentle kiss from him and said, "I just want you to know that no matter how pissed off I get, I would never purposely hurt you, alright?" Edd cast his eyes down and quietly nodded his head. Kevin slowly released him and back up to go get his things.

He froze to the spot, however as he laid eyes on that girl Edd was friends with, what was her name? Anna! Anna was standing there. He cursed to himself, as the obvious surprise on her face told him that she'd seen everything. Instead of running away or becoming disgusted, she said, "That was SO cute, you have no idea." Kevin raised an eyebrow at her as she reached behind her to open her book bag. She pulled out a smaller black bag with pull strings and tossed it to him. "Er…Thanks." She grinned at him and said "C'mon, get your stuff. You're gonna be late for practice." Kevin was almost as confused as Edd had been a moment ago. He gathered his things and he turned and looked at Edd, who was standing by the girl. He nodded to him and said "See you at lunch, Double D."

The sock-headed Ed nodded and waved to him as Kevin turned and hustled down the street with his bike in tow. That girl was really weird, she was a good match for Edd. '_Wait what?_' He shook his head, she was a good _friend_ for him. Nobody was Edd's match except him.

He made it to practice although he was a bit late and had to run an extra lap for it. That Anna girl stayed fresh in his mind the whole time. Had she been spying on them? He had seen Edd in the halls so many times chatting with her and every day they walked home together. Kevin couldn't shake that little bit of jealousy that latched onto the back of his mind. He knew he could trust Edd, but could he trust that girl? He was lost in so much thought that Nat managed to swipe the ball from him for the first time in a while. The coach roared at Kevin to focus on the game and Kevin had to forget about it for a while.

After practice Kevin and his usual cronies made their way down the hall to their lockers just as the crowds were dissipating to class. Nazz was glued to his side, talking and laughing and Kevin had to smile and laugh along with her. Sure enough, as they rounded the corner Kevin caught sight of Edd and Anna standing in the hall together talking. He scowled and it must have been longer than he thought because Nazz caught his look and said "Hey, what's wrong?" Kevin looked at her and shook his head.

Nazz looked at what he was looking at and saw Anna with Edd. She realized what was going through Kevin's mind and said "Oh, it's about Anna isn't it?" Kevin nodded knowing he could trust Nazz not to tell. Nazz knew right away how he felt, as she felt this exact kind of jealousy towards Edd ever since Kevin had told her no. She bit her lip and toyed with the lock on her locker. "Well…you should trust Double D enough to know that he wouldn't mess around." Kevin nodded and threw his things in his locker, however it obviously wasn't enough to ease his mind, as he slammed his locker shut and just leaned against it.

Nazz wasn't a home wrecker, that kinda thing just wasn't cool. However she couldn't help the feeling of triumph as she watched Kevin eye the other couple who were laughing over something. Nazz sighed and motioned Kevin to walk away with her. As they did she told him, "You know they're just friends, right?" Kevin shook his head and said, "It's just not that fair. I can't so much as say a damn word to the dork without the entire team shitting themselves, but Anna can laugh and walk with him and nobody blinks an eye." The blonde nodded her head and said "Well you know you and Double D are in two completely different social statuses. People expect you to go out with cheerleaders and hang with the football stars. Double D's a science-y guy who's in all the academic clubs. I know that you see those two groups together on TV, but that's not how it happens in reality."

Kevin looked over at Nazz, who offered him a smile. He knew she was right but it didn't matter because he and Edd were together anyways. Nazz could see him pondering and said "Why don't you just talk to Anna. Get to know her." Kevin slowly nodded, if Anna hadn't rejected them this morning when she caught them kissing, surely she wouldn't reject them if he told her about their relationship.


	13. Chapter 13: AUTHOR'S NOTE

**THIS IS AN AUTHOR'S NOTE. NO CHAPTER THIS TIME, JUST AN ANNOUNCEMENT.**

Recently I have noticed especially on Tumblr and DeviantArt that there are a LOT of KevEdd haters and trolls. Even I have gotten a few hate messages on my Tumblr telling me to quit posting or else.

I just want to tell you guys that no matter how many messages I get; no matter how many trolls flock to our ship- I will not quit writing, or drawing, or anything else, and **neither should you.** If you do any of these things or you just enjoy looking at the things others do, if a troll gets on your case, just delete their comments or ignore them totally. The only reason they do that is because they're bored and they want to try and make people mad and raise their blood pressure for no reason. It's not like you're ever going to meet this troll in real life, and even if you do, so what? They're a very small person compared to the massiveness of our fandom/ship/whatever.

Just remember that KevEdd is all imagination. You control this pairing just as much as Danny Antonucci did because it's fiction, if you can think about the characters, you can literally make them do whatever you want. (As long as you put a disclaimer saying you don't actually own them. :P)

Nobody can take your imagination from you, all they can do is just try to upset you. Don't let them get to you. KevEdd is really popular among the EENE community, and while that is a good thing, it's also bad because both good and horrible people are attracted. I've seen really WACKY pairings in my time like Fred x George Weasley and they don't get NEAR as much hate or repulsion but that just proves my point. Soon some other pairing will come along, and the trolls will go to that pairing.

So you, my dear reader- Just hang in there. If you have art or fanfiction or cosplay out there, I've probably read or seen it, and love it just like the other 99.9% of fans.

If you don't give up, then neither will I. Trolls ain't got crap on us. :) Okay I'll shut up and get back to writing. I just wanted to let you guys know what was in my heart. Thank you for your continued support.

I am leaving this note in as Chapter 14. So just be on the look out for Chap 15.


	14. Chapter 14

This is a HUGE chapter, but that's okay because it makes up for the lack of a chapter 14. Along with this chapter comes a bit of a surprise at the end. I wasn't too sure about it, it was just an idea that popped into my head at work today. But I think I will leave it as is for now. You'll soon see.

I'm posting this chapter today because tomorrow I have to go have a tooth pulled and I doubt I'll be feeling that great on Saturday. So in case I'm too loopy to write a chapter, this'll hopefully hold you guys

I own nothing of EEnE or Nat Goldberg except for this story.

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Standing in the lunch line was always something that both Kevin and Edd disliked. Kevin didn't like being touched and pushed around by others in line, and Edd didn't like the germs that came with the people. Kevin stood at the entrance to the lunchroom searching for Anna. He wanted to tell her what was going on before lunch even began so he could eat in peace. A few moments passed while he waited and soon the three Ed friends walked passed him. Eddy and Ed ignored him completely and Edd turned and smiled brightly at him as he went to stand in line.

Kevin gave him a smile before his face turned serious and continued to look around for the purple haired girl. Finally after minutes had passed and he was about to give up, she came in. Shoving his hands in his pocket, he started towards her and when he came to a stand beside her, she beamed at him and said "Hey Kevin!" He greeted her with a slight nod of his head and they went through the lunch line in silence.

As soon as they got their food, Kevin looked around and an empty place at a table with some other people he'd never seen before. He glanced back to see Anna starting to walk in a different direction, so he called out to her. "Anna. Come over here with me. I wanna talk to you." Anna seemed puzzled but nodded and they both walked over to the table.

When they sat down in the quiet area, Anna smiled gently at him. Kevin looked back at her almost coldly and began, "I guess by now you've figured out happened between me and Double D this morning." She only nodded and listened as he looked around to make sure nobody was near, then he stated very quietly as to not attract attention. "Well Edd and I are seeing each other."

The girl nodded and looked at him. "Yeah, I guessed that too. What's that got to do with me?" Kevin chewed on his food for a moment, lost in thought. He didn't want to just say 'back off' right there because she looked so gentle and she was Edd's good friend. It would also add to his jerk status, so he quickly thought up a cover that would get his point across. Swallowing, he continued, "Well, I knew that you and my dork are good friends and I felt that I could trust you with our secret." Kevin's mind finished, '_And I want to make sure you don't try anything_'

Anna's smile radiated and she replied softly, "Don't worry, you can trust me. I won't tell." Kevin nodded and muttered his thanks. Just then, Nazz passed them by and called out to Kevin, who bid farewell to Anna and stood up to go after the blonde. Anna watched them walking away before she began to eat her own food which was now getting cold. '_Well that was odd._'

It was only a matter of moments before Edd passed by and noticed she was alone. That was weird, because he swore he just saw Kevin with her. He sat down across from her where the jock had sat only minutes ago and greeted her. "Salutations Anna. I thought you were eating with Kevin a minute ago?" Anna smirked and said "Not really, he was just giving me a message." Edd cocked his head slightly and asked her "Oh? Whatever could it be about?" Anna looked to make sure Kevin was still gone before she turned back and said, "He thinks I'm trying to make a move on you."

Edd choked on his milk and exclaimed, "What? That's completely ridiculous!" He put his carton down and wiped his mouth off. "I can't believe he would go and confront you like this behind my back!" Anna shook her head and said "Don't be so harsh Double D. Think about just today alone. We were together quite a bit more than usual. That must've irritated Kevin. Every time he would see us together he'd either glare at us or just walk away without saying anything."

Edd pondered it for a moment before saying "Alright, I suppose I can understand that. However I'm concerned about you. You're not upset with him?" Anna shook her head again and smiled. "Nah I can dig it. I know what jealousy feels like. I don't blame him for wanting to protect you." Edd listened to her and for a moment they continued to eat, soon though Edd furrowed his eyebrows. "Do you have affectionate feelings for someone?"

Anna glanced down at her food for a moment, her face slightly flushed. She then looked around the room until her eyes landed upon a certain teal-haired athlete who also happened to be friends with Kevin, and motioned towards him. Edd was completely stunned. "Nat? Really?" She smiled and nodded. "Yeah but I doubt anything will ever happen. I hear he's a real player." He shrugged his shoulders and said "You never know until you try."

After lunch, Edd's science class went to the library to work on reports. Lucky for Edd, big Ed was in this class. Eddy also shared the class, but Edd still was feeling a little rocky towards him. As Edd placed his things at a table and sat down to read a textbook, Eddy and Ed joined him there and Eddy looked around before he said "Hey, sockhead." Edd 'hmmed' in acknowledgement. For a while they sat in silence, Edd lost within the glossy pages of a textbook, Ed having stuffed a comic book in between the pages of his own textbook, pretending to be in study and Eddy, who was face down on the table trying to get some sleep.

Soon after finishing the chapter he needed for a report, Edd stood up and walked back to the rows of shelves that lined the library. Walls were lined with books, but also rows of shelves stood ceiling-high in the middle of the floor and made a sort of maze in the back corner. Edd had to walk all the way to the farthest corner, usually where the oldest textbooks went. It was kind of dusty and nobody really ever went back there save for the teachers, librarians and a few students like himself. As he turned the corner, he thought he heard footsteps behind him. Upon a quick backwards glance, he found he was wrong.

This corner of the library was pretty well cut off from the rest of the place, as the rows upon rows of shelves that stood high made it easy to hide. Edd had used this place many a time for that exact reason. Mostly when Eddy was after him for something, or a bully wanted to hurt him, he would use this place.

As he was reaching out to put the textbook back in its rightful position, he suddenly felt a presence behind him. Before he could turn to face the person, their arms slid around his midsection and a voice whispered in his left ear, "I knew I'd find you in here." Edd shuddered and mumbled, "Am I that predictable?"

The voice, belonging to his muscular boyfriend made a noise of contentment and his arms tightened around his waist. Kevin smirked as he nibbled at Edd's earlobe from behind, which caused the latter to inhale sharply through his teeth. He kissed the skin just under his ear and whispered, "I just can't get you off my mind. I want you so fucking bad right now." Edd let his eyelids droop slightly, and he leaned back against the solid chest behind him. "Language Kevin…"

Kevin made a guttural noise and pushed against Edd with his lower half, letting him know what state he was in. Jealousy had done wonders for his arousal that morning. He'd have to remember that later. All he could think about was his desire to tear those pants off of his love and pounding him into oblivion. Edd squirmed in his grasp and said, "Kevin you really ought to get a drink of water and relax. There's nothing we can do in our current environment." Kevin chuckled as he continued to push Edd. Poor, little naive sockhead. Edd finally stop fighting against the force that propelled him forward and he found himself pushed face-first into the bookshelf against the wall. This mere act caused a new wave of pleasure to sweep over his mind, one he'd never felt before.

He didn't want Kevin to see his blushing face. This was all new and almost too much for Edd. In his mind, relationships and sex were in a completely different realm than studies and school. Obviously he valued both, but he had to give the edge to school because that would only happen once in his life, whereas there would always be a girlfriend or boyfriend, maybe even a husband one day. He hoped that it would be Kevin.

Kevin leaned in and took one of Edd's earlobes between his teeth, nipping gently. When Edd didn't react, he ran his hands up and down the front of his body, coming to a rest on his hips. Edd only faced forward and tried to refrain from making any sort of noise and encouraging him. However Kevin didn't need any encouragement at this point, and very slowly, teasingly, he ran one hand down further from his hip to brush over a certain area that caused Edd to bite his lip and squirm. "Kevin…_we're at school_!" The smart Ed hissed between clenched teeth. He tried very hard to fight his body's natural reaction but he was losing rather quickly. Kevin only released his earlobe and muttered, "So what?" He continued his ministrations upon Edd's neck and jawline as he began to rub the growing tent in his shorts.

Edd's mind was in a haze, his senses were scattered. He tried to reach down and push Kevin's hand away from him but Kevin merely chuckled and grabbed his wrists, holding them with his free hand above Edd's head as he continued to play with his hardness. The sock-headed Ed was trapped now, even as he tried his hardest to pull his arms away, Kevin easily overpowered him with just one hand. Kevin continued to fondle Edd and leave red marks all over his neck and face and soon Edd could not help the tiny whimper that escaped his throat.

Edd soon became aware of a growing heat in his stomach that was spreading and the larger it grew, the hazier and more panicked he became. His edge was coming on and if he didn't stop Kevin he would make a mess. Of all the things he could plan for, he never in his wildest dreams planned for this to happen at school. He didn't have a change of clothes! He felt Kevin wrap his hand around him through the confines of his purple shorts and started to pump faster. He bit back a moan of unwanted pleasure and tried to speak firmly, "Kevv…innn."

Kevin was in the middle of leaving a good teeth mark on the junction of his neck and shoulder through his orange tee. He released and murmured, "Yeah babe?" "Y-You have to stop…" Kevin chuckled and whispered, "No I really don't think I do." Edd squirmed and tried again. "Please…I do n-not want to have an orgasm in here…" Kevin paused slightly, but continued to keep up the pace he had been. A devious idea started to come together in his mind and he smirked. "Then beg me to stop."

Edd almost couldn't understand him as the blood had left his brain and had run to more southern parts. "W-What?" Kevin nipped at his earlobe once more and said "You heard just fine. Beg for me." The smart Ed had no choice but to obey as he was coming to his edge fast. "S-Stop Kevin."

Kevin didn't stop his motions at all and instead hissed, "Again." Edd writhed uselessly underneath Kevin's strong figure. "Please Kevin, stop." A harsh thrust of the hand made Edd jerk and whimper. "Again Edd." "_Please stop Kevin_!" Slowly Kevin obeyed his wishes and released his wrists and pulled away from him completely. Edd did not turn around out of shame. He didn't want to keep Kevin pushed away but for goodness sake, this was school! This was not private at all.

Kevin waited for a while and when Edd didn't turn back around he gently took hold of his shoulder and pulled him around to look him in the eyes. Edd's eyes told him everything. Fear, shame, and frustration floated in his emerald orbs. Kevin shook his head and stole a kiss from him. "You win Double dweeb." As he turned to leave the other in peace, he was stopped by a hand grabbing his arm. "You're leaving me?" Kevin turned slightly, confused. "Isn't that what you want?"

Edd shook his head and said "It's not that I don't desire you. It's that I'm not comfortable performing such acts in a public place like this." Edd stepped forward and hugged Kevin from behind as tight as his thin arms could. "I want you very much." Kevin smiled a little. It was so damn hard not to like the dork. When Edd let him go he asked him, "Please, will you join me for dinner tonight?" Kevin chuckled slightly, how could he resist? "Yeah sure, dork."

After school practice went much better today than it had in a week. Nobody questioned him, nobody accused him or even asked him about Edd. He finally seemed to get it through the team's heads that he was still top dog and they treated him as such. Afterwards when Kevin was stepping into the shower he could hear Nat and the others chattering away but he didn't join in. He just wanted to get out of there and get to Edd's house.

His walk home was peaceful, albeit slow. As he passed by the spot where he had crashed that morning, he scowled at the skid marks on the sidewalk. He was still angry that his bike was broken but he didn't blame Edd a bit after he had realized why Edd was there in the first place. The cool wind blew around him gently, chilling the tips of his ears. The sun was getting close to touching the horizon and Kevin picked up his pace. He really didn't want to stay too late at Edd's but he also wanted to have more than just dinner.

When he finally reached that familiar street of the cul-de-sac everything seemed normal. Out at the playground he could see Jonny, Sarah and Jimmy all playing on the equipment. Further down to the circle of houses he could see Ed and Eddy outside doing something. He ignored them and put his broken bike in his garage. Even though he didn't blame Edd, he was still going to make him fix it. As he headed across the street, Eddy and Ed had gone off somewhere so it was only him outside. He could see that the lights were on at Edd's and his heart filled with happiness.

Edd had seen him coming from the kitchen window and rushed to the front door, flung it open and rushed down the sidewalk and jumped on Kevin as if he hadn't seen him in years. Kevin hugged him back gently and Edd quickly took his hand and ushered him into the house, but not before making him remove his shoes. "I'm glad you arrived when you did! Dinner is almost ready."

Kevin smirked as Edd led him into the kitchen, but a wonderful smell filled the air and he inhaled deeply. "God that smells delicious. What is it?" Edd grinned as he sat his boyfriend down at the table and went back over to finish up. "Lasagna!" Kevin nodded, now recognizing the aroma. Luckily for Edd, Kevin was no picky eater, he'd take a plateful of anything and shovel it down.

Edd brought everything over and sat down opposite of Kevin. As they ate Edd asked between mouthfuls, "So how was your practice this afternoon?" Kevin nodded and said "Great. I just wish I weren't so worn down afterwards." Edd looked slightly worried and asked "Are you feeling alright now? Should I let you go home and rest?" Kevin had already nearly cleared half his plate as he swallowed and replied, "Nah I'm good. I wanted to see you."

They finished eating after some more small talk, then Kevin helped Edd clear dishes, as he wanted to have more time to be with his boyfriend. Edd led him through the living room and up to the bathroom, to his confusion. Edd pulled out two toothbrushes from the cabinet and handed him one. "Personal hygiene, you know…" Kevin shook his head and told him, "You're a nutcase, Double dork." Edd shrugged and said "I'd rather not kiss someone with lasagna breath."

After being forced to brush his teeth, Kevin found himself being led back downstairs to the living room, where he plopped down on the couch and Edd sat down a little more gently. Kevin reached over and pulled him closer and planted a kiss on his lips. It didn't last long and Edd didn't quite allow access into his mouth, and when they pulled away, the nervous look in his eye from earlier returned. Kevin leaned over and asked him, "What's wrong?" Edd bit his lip and looked at him for a moment, then answered, "Nothing Kevin. I was just thinking." Kevin reached up and put a hand on his shoulder. "If you're scared, we don't have to do this." Edd shook his head and quickly he said, "Oh no! I'm not afraid. I just…well I was hoping to try something different."

Kevin's eyebrows furrowed. "What's that?" Edd scooted closer to him and put his hands on his chest, slightly pushing him until he complied and lay back against the arm of the chair. This was the first time Edd had ever done anything like that, and it turned Kevin on to no end. Edd moved so that he was over Kevin, but he had a look of uncertainty, so Kevin reached up and took hold of his face, bringing him in to kiss him soundly. This time Edd was the one to seek permission into Kevin's mouth and Kevin instantly granted him access. Their clean tongues swirled together, leaving a strong mint aftertaste in both boys' mouths. They both fought for dominance, from one mouth to the other, though in the end Kevin won. Edd pulled his head back and looked into Kevin's eyes, his lips slightly swollen and a thin trail of saliva in the corner of his mouth. Kevin smiled gently and reached up to cup his face. Edd turned into his hand and kissed his palm. "We better move to my bedroom."

When they got there, clothes were immediately removed and Kevin found himself lying on the bed, with Edd's thin frame entangled with his muscular one. Edd kissed his chin and neck, even daring to nip at his skin once or twice. He pulled away after a few moments and brought his head up to look down on Kevin and he asked, "May I ask you something?" Kevin answered him with a kiss on the mouth and a nod. "Were you jealous of Anna?" Kevin looked back in the dork's green eyes. He knew he couldn't lie because it was obvious Anna had told on him. He nodded and replied, "Yeah I was. I just got tired of the way the school acts when they see me with you, but you could spend the entire day with her and nobody even looks twice. They don't even assume you guys are dating. I…I hate it!"

Edd felt a new wave of guilt wash over him mixed with slight arousal at the thought of Kevin getting jealous. Kevin continued talking, his voice slightly higher. "That's why I did that to you in the library, dork. I just…couldn't stand the thought of you being in someone else's arms." Edd lowered himself down onto Kevin's body and hugged him close. He never knew… "Kevin…I promise that as long as we are in this relationship, I will never become intimate with another." Kevin felt a sting of a tear in his eye. Nobody knew it, but Kevin was a happy crier, and Edd damn near made him bawl right there.

He wrapped his strong, tan arms around Edd's small back and said "I'm glad. I promise you the same thing." Edd returned to kissing his neck and collarbone and Kevin reached up to take his red cap off and toss it carelessly to the floor. Edd saw his motion as he nipped at Kevin's flesh and paused to do the same, no longer conscious of his wound around Kevin. He kissed his way down Kevin's chest and hesitated slightly before he gingerly wrapped his lips around one of his nipples. Kevin grunted and closed his eyes as Edd sucked lightly. His teeth nipped at taut skin as he tried to mimic what Kevin had done days ago. Kevin lay still under him in pure bliss. Though the dork had no experience, he was really good. Everything he did felt amazing, but he wanted more. Edd switched sides and suckled on one nipple while his fingers toyed with the other. Kevin whispered to him, "Bite harder." Edd paused but did as he was told and bit down on Kevin's nipple. Kevin felt his lower half reacting quicker than usual and he pushed against Edd to let him know his state.

Edd let a small gasp escape his mouth as Kevin's hardness brushed against his own. He kissed his way down Kevin's tight stomach, kissing each one of his rock hard abs. Having never done this before Edd was incredibly nervous, but his desire for Kevin compelled him. He gently took hold of Kevin's throbbing member and slid his mouth around the tip. He felt a saltiness grace his tongue as he experimentally lapped at Kevin's head. Kevin threw his head back and arched his back, moaning loudly as Edd began sucking on him. Edd quivered as he bobbed his head, sliding further and further down Kevin's manhood.

Kevin had never writhed and squirmed so much for another person or even for himself in his entire life. He reached down to grip the back of Edd's head, letting his fingers become entangled in the messy black hair. Edd felt a chill go down his spine as he realized that for the first time ever, he had control over Kevin. Another loud cry from the athlete reassured his thoughts. He continued to suck, lick and lightly scrape his teeth over the head of Kevin's cock and just as he thought he was going to drive Kevin to his edge, Kevin suddenly jerked upwards and peeled Edd off of him. "Wait…Edd." Edd breathed deeply and looked at Kevin, confused. Kevin managed to catch his own breath and whispered, "I don't want to cum until after you…"

The boldness of that statement combine with the fact that Kevin actually cared that much about his satisfaction struck Edd speechless. He could only kneel there and stare into Kevin's eyes with his mouth slightly agape and a bright red flush across his cheeks. Kevin reached out and pulled him by his shoulders until their mouths collided. Kevin ignored the taste of himself and lapped at Edd's tongue hungrily. They kissed for only a brief time before Kevin pulled away and rested his forehead against Edd's and whispered, "You'd better be on top…I won't last long if I do it." Emerald and sapphire eyes met and they stared deeply into one another as Edd asked slowly "Are you sure? You've never…" Kevin nodded and said "Do it babe."

Kevin turned over and forced himself to relax, even though his hardness was pressing into the mattress and causing a bit of discomfort. Edd settled himself on Kevin's thighs and paused to think about what he should do. Reaching down with both hands, he kneaded Kevin's hips and behind to help him loosen up. Kevin breathed out soundly and said, "Just use your fingers, Edd. I'll be fine." Edd obeyed him and bit his lip. His arousal overcame his sense of disgust as he inserted one small digit into Kevin. Kevin showed no signs of discomfort so after a moment Edd added another. He thrusted his fingers for a bit and tried to figure out what to do next. Kevin reached up and without a sound, he made the scissor motion, his mouth buried in Edd's pillow. Edd complied and gently spread his fingers in Kevin. That's when Kevin tensed his shoulders slightly and Edd could hear his muffled grunt.

When Edd was satisfied with the amount of time he spent trying to prep Kevin, he pulled his fingers out and looked over at his desk in thought. Kevin turned to look at him with one eye and growled, "What are you waiting for?" Edd nervously looked down at Kevin and said "I need some sort of lubrication." Kevin shook his head, his arousal getting the better of him. "God no…Just go in dry." Edd's eyes widened to the size of golf balls and he cried out, "Kevin I couldn't! You would surely rupture and blee-" Kevin cut him off with a snarl, "_Fuck,_ I don't care! Just do it Double dweeb."

So as Kevin wished, Edd aligned himself with Kevin's backside and placed one hand beside him and one hand on his shoulder blade and pushed into Kevin. Kevin moaned into the pillow but unlike Edd's, Kevin's moans seemed pleased. Edd paused only part way in Kevin and sat there for a minute. Kevin growled, "All the way." Edd tried to protest, "But Kevin-" "_All. the. way_." Edd had no choice; he slid deeper into Kevin until he was all the way sheathed and Kevin hissed. "_Fucckk_._ Yes_."

It was then that realization came crashing into Edd like a wave- Kevin was a masochist. Unsure if he was comfortable with that knowledge, he tried to speak again, "Kevin, I'm not sure that I should-" Kevin raised his head and hissed "Stop talking, Double dweeb. You're ruining it. Just fuck me and hush." Edd didn't want to as Kevin put it, 'ruin the moment' so he continued to thrust into Kevin's tight core. Kevin growled and moaned and demanded Edd to go harder. Kevin's odd behavior wasn't enough to hold back his own arousal and Edd found himself groaning quietly with Kevin. He started to quicken his pace and Kevin bit down on his pillow, breathing deeply. After a moment of this new pace, Kevin pushed himself up against Edd, catching the latter by surprise. Edd cried out softly and gripped Kevin's hips. They both moved frantically together, desperate, needing each other.

Edd mimicked Kevin's moves and reached around his waist to grasp him and move his hand up in down with his hips. Kevin grunted and growled his approval, which brought Edd closer to his edge. His thrusts became wilder just as Kevin's had when he felt the pleasure waves start to come more and more aggressively. He tried to steady his breathing enough to tell Kevin he was almost there. The only response Kevin gave him was a snarl of "Good." As he continued to thrust his hips up against Edd's in a harsh manner. Edd gave two more solid thrusts and let loose a loud cry as he felt himself spill into Kevin. Kevin shouted loudly and released at the same moment onto Edd's bed.

Edd didn't pull out right away, fearing for what he would find when he did. Sure enough, when he pulled away he was bloodied. Now nothing but guilt swept over him as he whispered Kevin's name. Kevin pushed himself up from the bed and stood up, mentioning that he was going to go to the bathroom and clean himself up. Being the mysophobic kid he was, Edd immediately went over to his desk and pulled out a sanitary wipe to clean himself, then stripped the bed and took it to the laundry.

When he came back, Kevin hadn't returned from the bathroom, so Edd pulled a new blanket from the closet and spread it across his bed before curling up underneath it. He faced the wall and thought about everything that had happened just moments ago. He respected Kevin and the lifestyle he chose, but Kevin couldn't keep asking Edd to hurt him, he just did not possess the heart to cause him harm in any way. He tried to fight his emotions, but as tired as he was, his emotions won and he felt a tear slip out of his eye at the memory of seeing Kevin's blood.

It was a few minutes later when he heard Kevin return to the room and felt the bed shift as he slid into the blanket beside him. Edd didn't have the will to turn and let Kevin see him in this state, so he remained facing the wall. Kevin didn't try to force him to turn, so instead he pressed up against his back and rested his head against the back of Edd's. He was silent for a moment, not sure how he should go about talking to him. Finally he sighed and said "I'm sorry, dork. You had to find out at some point though." Edd took a breath to calm himself before he said, "It's alright, I forgive you Kevin. I just…" He trailed off to keep a small noise in his throat from coming out. Kevin gently pried at him. "You just what?" Edd finally spilled it, "I don't want to be the one to hurt you. I-I didn't want to make you b-bleed." He made a noise that was a mix between a hiccup and a sob before he calmed his voice again. "I can learn to accept the way you want to do things. I just need some time to get used to it."

Kevin wrapped his arms around Edd and held him tightly and murmured, "I can just as easily learn to ease up. It wouldn't be fair of me to force you into doing those things every time. I want you to like having sex with me just as much as I like it." Edd turned in his grasp to look at him. "Well, it's like you said Kevin. If I'm going to be with you, I'm going to have to try new things." Kevin only smiled at him briefly before claiming his lips. Edd snuggled up to Kevin's strong body and Kevin held him and stroked his hair for a while until Edd fell fast asleep in his arms.

Kevin quietly untangled himself from Edd's arms and with a gentle kiss on the smart Ed's forehead, he collected his things, quickly rushed to the bathroom to get changed, and turned out all the lights before he quietly left for his own home.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 is here! :D Also, I consolidated Chapters 1 and 2 because I noticed how incredibly short they looked.

For some reason I got a kick out of writing Double D's parents. As I described them in the chapter, his father, a tight high-expectations man of success and his mother, an active and social woman who also has high expectations, although different from his father's. This reminded me of Steve Jobs, and Danica Patrick for some reason. xD As weird of a couple as that would be...

I hope you can think of some OTHER couple his parents remind you of. lol Enjoy!

* * *

Days passed and soon it was the day of the big tournament and Kevin was completely worn out by this time. His social life was almost non-existent save for lunch time, and his grades were barely stable; one more D or F in Biology and he could kiss his GPA goodbye. The only times he actually got to be with Edd longer than 10 minutes were few and far between. Most recently and probably only the time they'd been together this week, he finally forced Edd over to fix his bike, they ended up making love in the backseat of his parents' car. Sex and practice don't mix as well as people would like to think though, and Kevin found that he was taking cups of his dad's coffee to school and eating anything with sugar just to feel at least a little energy. However this routine didn't stop Kevin from seeking Edd out in the halls and pulling him into places like an empty restroom or the janitor's closet and snogging him like there was no tomorrow. It was a miracle they managed to keep their relationship a secret.

After one particularly spicy encounter in the library during lunch break, Kevin was readjusting his hat and smoothing out his clothes as he asked, "You're coming to the game tonight, aren't you?" Edd was putting his bag over his shoulder and bit his lip. "I hadn't thought about it. I have much to study for and my parents are supposed to be returning tonight. I already have so many tasks to do."

Kevin frowned and shoved his hands in his pocket. Tomorrow his team wasn't playing, as Lemon Brook and Macintosh Stream were scrimmaging then, Peach Creek would only play only tonight and if they won, Monday afternoon. "Couldn't you bring your homework to the game?" Edd shook his head and replied, "Not only would that prove ineffective because of the noise, I wouldn't be paying attention to you." Seeing the downhearted look upon his boyfriend's face, he quickly reached out and took his hand. "I suppose I could ask my parents to come. They aren't really all that interested in sports, but I'll tell them you want me to come for you. They would want to know who you are."

His ginger lover's face brightened a little and he smiled and said, "That's cool. I just wanted you to be there." Edd smiled in return and wrapped his arms around Kevin's neck and said "You can count on me!" Kevin returned his embrace and motioned for him to walk alongside him. As they made their way back to the front of the library, Edd asked him, "Kevin, would it be possible for me to meet your parents soon?" Kevin tensed a little at the question. As he reached out and pushed the heavy white door open and they entered the hall, he replied slowly, "I…don't know if that's a good idea, man. My parents aren't really the social type."

Edd tilted his head, mindful to keep at least two feet of space between him and Kevin in the hall as they walked so eyes wouldn't be too attracted to them. "Explain?" Kevin sighed and shook his head. "Let's just say the only friends my parents have are called Jack Daniel and Evan Williams." Edd's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, trying to understand, then his eyes widened as he got it and he nearly tripped over himself in shock. "Th-That's awful, Kevin." The jock nodded and replied, "I've had Nazz over before when they were home and it almost became a nightmare. My old man doesn't take to new people that well, and since all they ever do is sit in their bedroom and drink, I never know what he's going to do. Sometimes he's alright, but sometimes even _I_ can't go home."

Edd was silent for a moment as they padded across the white tile floor. It seemed almost ironic. Someone so popular, so skilled as Kevin had parents who were that low. "How does your father hold his job?" Kevin shrugged and said "He's a smooth-talker. The bastard can get himself into any mess and almost instantly get himself right back out." As they rounded the corner and headed to their gray lockers, Edd was lost in thought. "…And your mother?" Kevin snorted and said "What about her? My dad puts the money on our credit cards and Ma just goes out and blows it all right to hell."

Edd was awash with pity and his face obviously showed it because Kevin's sapphire eyes glanced at him and he shook his head and said "Don't worry about it, twerp. It's got nothing to do with you." Edd crossed behind Kevin to his locker and he mumbled, "I understand…I just worry for you."

Kevin seemingly went into defense mode and he opened his locker rather roughly and retorted, "Yeah? Well what about you? I don't think I've ever seen a car at your house. You've been running a household by yourself since forever. When do you get any attention?" As Edd was reaching to get his Geology book, he pulled it out from under the stack of artwork big Ed had drawn him and they all flew out and scattered. He made a frustrated noise and set about picking them up. "W-Well, Mother and Father aren't always so neglecting. Wherever they go on their vacations or business trips, they always send me souvenirs or money."

Kevin gave a sharp laugh, probably sharper than he meant to and turned around to help Edd. "Yeah but do they ever _take_ you on vacation? Do they ever come home and spend time with you? Do they ever congratulate you when you come home with a perfect grade card? I'd say you're in just as poor shape as I am." Edd struggled with an answer as he gathered an armful of papers. "L-Let's just drop the subject."

Kevin stood up straight when they had picked all the papers up and he walked over to Edd's side. "Hey. Just because our parents suck at doing their jobs doesn't mean we won't turn out okay, y'know?" Edd looked at Kevin curiously as he took the stack Kevin offered him and slid them back onto the top shelf. Kevin smiled gently at Edd and said, "I've got you. You've got me. We're gonna be alright."

The last couple hours of school passed by and after the final bell rang, Edd only saw Kevin once at his locker. He then slipped on his jacket and said goodbye to him, earning a wave in return, and headed out for the bus. Anna had made herself scarce these days, which bothered Edd a little, and so he rode the bus with Ed and Eddy again. He climbed on and took a seat next to Ed, who greeted him happily.

On the ride home, Edd glanced over to the opposite row of seats at Eddy and called his attention. "Hey Eddy, are you going to the basketball game tonight?" Eddy snorted and said "Yeah right. Like I wanna waste my time in a smelly ol' gym full of sweaty guys. Get real Double D." Edd nodded and turned to look at Ed and asked him the same question. Ed shook his head and said "Nope! My dad promised my mom that he would take me and Sarah out to the comic book store and the mall tonight because today is my dad's payday and my mom says it's his turn to take care of us." Eddy turned at that news and asked greedily, "Is your dad taking you guys to the candy store?" Ed grinned wholly, unaware of the obvious plot boiling in Eddy's brain and said, "I hope so!" Edd leaned over across the aisle and wrapped his arm around Edd's shoulders and said "Ed, it looks like you got two new brothers!" Edd tried to object but big Ed took Eddy's words hook, line, and sinker. He grabbed them both in a giant, sticky bear hug and said "Yes! Ed Edd and Eddy are brothers! Dreams DO come true!"

Sarah, who happened to be two seats behind them, overheard Ed's joyful shouting and sat up to yell back, "ED! SHUT YOUR MOUTH! THERE'S NO WAY THOSE TWO LOSERS ARE COMING WITH US!" She sat back and grumbled to Jimmy, "It's already bad enough I have to deal with _him_ all night." Jimmy twiddled his fingers and said "I heard Ed say you were going to the candy store. Is that true?" The two-faced ginger girl smiled and said "Yeah! You should come with us, Jimmy!"

Eddy wheeled on Sarah and began arguing with her about how unfair that was and whatnot. Edd listened for only a moment, then turned to Ed and said "I'm sorry Ed, but I won't be joining you at the comic book store or the candy store this evening. I am otherwise engaged." Big Ed's face fell slightly at the news, then he brightened back up and asked, "Are you and Kevin going to be together again?" Edd pulled out a napkin from his bag and rested it on Ed's greasy shoulder before he put his hand on him and said "Well I'm going to be in the same area as Kevin, yes, but not with him. You see, Kevin asked me to come to the basketball game and watch the team tonight."

Eddy joined in on the conversation briefly and asked, "Shovelchin asked you to come? Seriously?" Edd looked to Eddy and nodded hesitantly, expecting him to make some comment towards Kevin. To his surprise, Eddy did no such thing. Instead he just shrugged and turned back to Sarah and Jimmy. Edd looked at his friends each in their own worlds and smiled to himself. This was how he wanted it to be for a long, long time.

When the bus finally stopped at their exit and Edd made into the cul-de-sac he was shocked to find an almost unfamiliar car in his driveway. He parents had beaten him home. Joy and rapture! Edd picked up the pace and jogged the rest of the way to his house and quickly flung his shoes off at the door and went inside. Excitement was no reason to be untidy however, so Edd bolted up the stairs to put his things in his room before coming back down to the living room.

His parents were both in their own respected arm chairs, his father reading the newspaper and his mother watching television. His mother, a sharp-looking, beautiful woman in her mid-40s, laid eyes on him she smiled but did not get up as she accepted a tight embrace from her son. "Mother it's wonderful to see you again!" The black haired woman 'hmmed' in response and said "Yes I'm pleased to see you too, Eddward." He quickly crossed over to his father and hugged the older man. Edd's father didn't quite hug him back, instead patted him on the shoulder and said sternly, "I assume your grade point average is still superb?" Edd nodded and went to the coffee table and opened the drawer to pull out the most recent card he had been saving.

His father took it and glanced over it, a thin smile on his lips. He nodded and set it on the arm of his chair and said flatly, "You never disappoint me, son." Edd beamed, as that was all the approval his father ever gave him, and that was all he needed. Any sudden expressions of happiness or of approval would have scared him. His father was a man well into his 50s, with a salt-and-pepper beard which looked to have been shaved days ago and was starting to grow back out, thick black glasses and a bald shiny head.

Edd walked over to the couch and sat down, pausing for a few minutes to take the sight of his parents in. Kevin had been on the money earlier in school. He never got to see his parents. After enough time had passed, he made a small noise to get their attention and began. "Um Mother, Father, I have a request I wish to make." Both parents turned to gaze at him silently as he leaned forward on the couch a little and continued. "I know that you haven't been home in quite some time…and that maybe you might have had other plans to celebrate being home tonight. But my school is having a big basketball tournament with the other schools in the district area. One of my friends, in fact my best friend…" Edd trailed slightly. He had no idea what else to call Kevin without revealing something his parents might not approve of. He continued on, "He is the captain of my school's team and he has asked me to come and watch the game. I was hoping you would consider coming with me?"

His father simply returned to his newspaper without an answer right away. His mother pursed her lips slightly and said "Darling, you know that your father and I dislike the idea of strenuous physical activity that causes one to have unsightly perspiration and offensive odors." Edd bit his lip, knowing that this was their go-to defense. "I understand, Mother. It's just that…Kevin is my good friend. I don't want to miss him play on his first night." His father looked up over the rims of his glasses at Edd and said "Kevin? Are you speaking of Kevin Barr? Joseph Barr's child?" When Edd nodded slightly, his father snorted and looked at more headlines and muttered, "Splendid. It's wonderful to know my son fraternizes with criminal offspring while I'm away."

Edd's mother quickly snapped her head over to her husband and hissed, "Dear! That is _NO _way to treat your son, or his friends. If Kevin is the team captain of the basketball team, then it's obvious he's not following in the footsteps of his father." Edd tried to help his mother, "That's right. Not only is Kevin the team captain of the basketball team, but he's also captain of the football team and the baseball team. He's the most popular boy in school, he has many friends and his grades are…well as far as I know they aren't bad."

His father continued reading and said "Yes, he may be faring well _now_ but give him time. In about a year and a half he'll be in college just like you. I am just as aware as you are how college can change a young man's goals and attitude, especially one as popular as Kevin seems to be." Edd began to get angry with his father, which is something he rarely did, even when his father was home. Usually he would just accept what his father said, but he spoke so harshly of Kevin. It made his heart start to thump in his ears. He stood up from the couch, adjusted his shirt and said "Well Father, regardless of whether or not you and Mother go, I am attending this basketball game. I bid you goodnight." With that, he turned and marched out of the living room and up the stairs to his room.

When he got there, he shut the door and leaned against it for a while to try and calm himself down. How dare his father? He took Kevin's name and in one single sweep, dismissed him as an aspiring alcoholic and failure. Edd reached up to take his hat off and scratch his head. He crossed over to his desk and looked at the clock, which read 4:30. Kevin's game didn't start until 7 so he still had time to see his parents. Speaking of his parents, he could hear them conversing downstairs and it made irritated him. He plopped down on the chair and took out his homework and began. It was the only thing that would relax him at the moment.

About 20 minutes and two reports later, a knock on his door reverberated in his ears. He stood crossed back over to the door and opened it up to see his mother standing there. She looked at him gently and said, "Eddward dear, please come downstairs for a moment. There's something your father and I would like to tell you." Edd tightened his grip on the doorknob and replied, "If it's about coming to the game tonight, do not worry yourselves. I wasn't expecting you to agree to come anyways." His mother shook her head and said sweetly, "Just come downstairs, honey." So Edd grudgingly did as he was told and trudged down the stairs after her.

When he got there, his father looked rather disgruntled and the newspaper had been taken away, probably courtesy of his mother. He motioned for his son to sit down and when he did, he cleared his throat. "Ahem… Son, your mother and I discussed the matter a little while ago…I have taken the matter into consideration and I have decided that I would be honored to accompany you to this basketball game." Edd perked up a bit, surprised that his father would agree, even at his mother's demands. "Really?

His father glanced at his mother, who nodded at him. He turned back to his son and said, "Yes. I would like to meet this friend of yours. Maybe he would like to come to dinner with us." Edd's heart fluttered with joy as he flung himself at his father, embracing the man. "Oh thank you Father! Thank you, thank you!" His father simply cleared his throat and looked away until Edd let him go. His mother then opened her mouth and said, "Son there's something else we would like to discuss with you."

Edd was used to receiving gifts from his mother as collateral for always being left alone. He knew that she thought she was doing what she could, but he couldn't help but wonder if she could do more, like taking the day off to be with him. Shiny things weren't really enough though, she couldn't just buy him things in return for parental negligence. He would be lying however, if he said that he never liked it. As they were driving to the high school, Edd was toying with his brand new cellphone.

When they arrived, his father tried to dump them off and go find a parking spot, but fearing he would just leave, Edd and his mother insisted that they wait. Finally after Edd rushed them in, they got to their seats in one of the closest spots to the floor Edd could find. As they were getting settled in, he noticed his father on his own phone and he quickly tugged at his father's sleeve. "Father, surely you aren't going to play on your cellphone the whole time?" His mother shot him a look over Edd's head, he muttered incoherently for a minute before putting the phone back in his pocket. Just then the people around them started to clap and cheer as the locker room doors opened and the Peach Creek team came hustling out. Edd wasn't necessarily loud, but he clapped vigorously and pointed at the first player leading the troop out, sporting the number 01 jersey. "That's him, Mother! That's Kevin!"

As the ginger jogged out onto the floor, he did a quick scan of the Peach Creek fan side of the gym. Granted there were more people there than he thought, it wasn't hard to spot his boyfriend sitting close to the floor nestled in between two very up-tight, well-dressed adults. He smirked to himself, Edd's parents were exactly as he thought they would be, granted Edd's mother was a little more beautiful and Edd's father was a little older than he thought. Edd caught sight of him staring and he waved energetically. Kevin smiled gently and nodded in his direction, acknowledging him. Nat came to a stand beside him and looked up to who Kevin was grinning at. "You feelin' good, boss?" He asked, giving Edd a smile and a wave even though he wasn't the one Edd was greeting. Kevin's smile never faded, "Yeah. I am."

Edd smiled at Nat as the teal-haired boy waved at him once. His mother leaned in and asked him, "Who was that sweetie?" Edd glanced at her and said "His name is Nathan. He's another friend." The game went extremely well. They were versus Macintosh tonight, the first half of the game was almost pitiful for Macintosh because of how easily Kevin's team was spanking theirs. Every basket made the Peach side of the gym roar with cheers and clapping. By half-time Peach Creek led 30-8. When the teams came back, Macintosh seemed to have got a bit of their game together. They started to play dirty, fouling at every turn.

One particularly dirty move occurred in the last 5 minutes of the game, when Nat had the ball and was travelling down the court. He quickly met up with a bulky member of the other team, and looked around for an open teammate. Kevin jumped into view and motioned for the ball and as Nat threw it to him, one of the Macintosh kids shoved Kevin out of the way to grab the ball, sending Kevin sliding.

The Peach crowd all started booing and hissing. Edd and both of his parents leaned forward to see if Kevin was alright. The ref called out foul on the Macintosh kid and gave Kevin two free shots. The Macintosh crowd all started yelling and calling, obviously pretending to miss what the kid had done. Edd grinned widely as Kevin took his place at the free throw line. Kevin had been awarded a trophy by their school for 100 free-throws in a row just months ago. There was no way Kevin could miss!

Kevin felt a smile grace his lips as he glanced over to see Edd's brilliantly white gap-toothed smile shining at him. His boyfriend would never know how adorable he really was. Kevin's thoughts never strayed from Edd as he lined himself up with the basket. He closed his eyes and imagined the first time he ever began to start liking Edd as more than, well, a dork.

The time when the cul-de-sac kids all had their piggy banks out and were headed to the candy story, Eddy forced Edd to try and break Jimmy's piggy bank and Edd refused to do his bidding and burst into tears right there in front of everyone, prompting Kevin to beat Eddy within an inch of his life, then after everyone had gone, he came over to help Edd to his feet and told him to forget about Eddy. The swooshing sound of the ball through the net was all the sound that filled the gym, followed by loud cheering and his teammates mumbling their congrats to him. The ref tossed him the ball and made the motion for one more shot. He let his thoughts carry him to the first time he saw Edd hurt, and he wasn't the one that caused it. Those two brutes he was forced to call teammates stood just three feet from him on either side. He could still feel Edd pressed up tightly against his chest as he held the broken boy. Swoosh. The last free shot went in without flaw.

By now the score was 78-14 and the ref called for the continuous clock rule, meaning that there was no way Macintosh was winning tonight. Edd smiled to himself as he watched the team get back into positions and continue. In the end, the score was 80-14 and the pep band was playing loudly as Peach Creek's team fist pumped and high fived each other as they jogged back into the locker rooms. Edd and his parents were among the last to make it outside to the front steps of the high school. It was 9:30 and although it was dark, the night still seemed young. In about another 10 minutes the team finally came out, tired and sweaty but all smiles.

Edd and his parents stood on the sidewalk and waited for Kevin, who sauntered out with Nat at his side. When Kevin spotted Edd, he immediately made a direct line towards him and gathered the thin boy in his arms. Edd hugged him back and playfully said "Kevin, you're gonna soak me in your filthy sweat!" Kevin laughed slightly and said "Get over it, Double dweeb." Nat then came over and joyfully exclaimed, "Aww, group hug!" He proceeded to join them in their hug.

Edd's parents stood there awkwardly, looking at each other and around the area. When the three boys came over to them, Edd's father cleared his throat and held his hand up to Kevin and said "Mr. Barr. Congratulations on your astounding performance tonight." Kevin hesitantly took his hand and shook it, giving his thanks. His father moved on to shake Nat's hand while his mother approached Kevin and put a hand on him and greeted him warmly. Edd's father then straightened himself and stated, "Well, would you boys care to join us for dinner tonight?" Kevin shook his head and declined, saying he had a lot of homework still left to do. Nat also declined and muttered his appreciation. As Edd's parents went to go get the car, Nat could immediately tell that he was the third wheel and Kevin was looking at him expectantly, so grabbed Edd around the shoulders and said, "Well I'm headed back to my house, gotta get caught up on my videogame time, ya know. It was great to meet your family, kid." As he sauntered away, Kevin approached Edd and said, "I'm not good at reading people. Are your parents okay with me?"

Edd beamed at him and replied, "They like you. Though they weren't interested in the actual sport, they think you're very skilled at what you do." Kevin gave him a genuine smile and said, "Great. So then I'll see you tomorrow." As he turned to head over to his bike, Edd quickly got his attention and told him about his new cell his parents bought him, and asked for his number. Kevin barely ever used his own phone, only Nazz and Nat would ever text him, but now he would have a reason. He gave Edd his number just as his parents were pulling up. Edd quickly hugged Kevin again and said "Bye Kevin. Congrats on your win." Kevin smiled and said goodbye before starting to make his own way home, feeling on top of the world.


	16. Chapter 16

Okay, so I recently read the KevEdd fanfic 'Culling of the Fold' and seen the artwork of ReplacED. Compared to those two stories, my little fanfic here is just like...kitten purrs and kiddy playtime. So after I finish this sweet little thing, I'm thinking I will work on a new KevEdd fanfic that will be a bit darker. Just a thought.

Anyways, here's Chapter 16, I originally had it in two parts, but I decided to upload it all together just to save on chapters. Also, I have nothing against the Kankers. I freakin' love those girls.

I do not own Ed Edd n Eddy or Nat...blah blah blah... something about Sam Vincent...OKAY! STORY TYME! :P

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Chapter 16 Part I

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The next day was Friday and the school was abuzz with news of Kevin's big win the night before. It had been the first time in over 10 years that Peach Creek had managed to stay in the tournament past the first game. When people weren't having their regular daily chitchat, they were talking about Kevin's team or about Kevin himself. Edd had listened in on the cheerleaders fawning over Kevin and Nat, and it made him so proud of his secret boyfriend and of his boyfriend's best friend. Last night at the game, when Kevin hadn't scored, Nat did and both boys' persistence had carried the team to victory. However fame is never all sunshine and roses. Along with praises came slander and rumors. Mostly a few small crowds of jealous males and catty females were the culprits, however even people like Jonny, Jimmy and Sarah were talking.

Along with so-called "friends", a few of Kevin's teammates were doing nothing to stop the rumors, even going so far as to help them along. Derrick Todd and Tyler Jackson were two of the biggest problems. If they themselves couldn't force Kevin into doing his job and keeping up a cool reputation at the school for the team, then they could make society bend him to their will. All along the Juniors' hall they had helped spread the verbal trash, and soon everyone in the two's class were gossiping.

**"Did you hear that Kevin and Eddward have been sneaking off together at lunch?"**

**"Yeah, I heard he dumped Nazz for that nerd!"**

**"No way, dude! Nazz'd beat the shit outta Edd! Kev's gotta be cheating on her."**

Naturally the smartest thing one can do is to ignore these rumors. Give them maybe a few days, or a weekend and people forget. However for Edd and Kevin's relationship, it wasn't quite that simple. The rumors had drifted into the ears of a very jealous blue-haired Kanker sister, who nearly choked on the pencil she had been chewing when Lee had whispered the news to her. For the most part she never saw him at all during the year, oblivious to the fact that he had been avoiding her, but ever since these rumors started, she had been hunting him like a dog. Their last particular meeting was at the very beginning of school right before the first bell rang. She had grabbed him by his stupid yellow tie, pinned him to his locker and had growled at him, "_Hey sweetie, is it true you and Kevin are together_?" He had just cowered there red-faced, sweaty, and stuttering. She hadn't let him give her an answer, as his behavior was all she needed to know that the rumors were true.

Ever since then she had stalked him. Wherever he had gone, with the exception of the boy's bathroom, she was there. It was lunchtime now and she was sitting with her sisters at the empty table in the back of the room while Edd was sitting with Anna. She glowered at him, she both loathed and loved him. How dare he just toss her love aside like an old glove! That stupid loser he called a boyfriend was not even close to being her match.

Her attention turned over to a certain red-headed athlete sitting a few tables away surrounded by his group of friends. As she toyed with the tines of her fork, and watched the jock she noticed how easily it was for him to talk to people. Anything he said, people listened. If he laughed, they laughed. If he got up to go to the trash, everyone, no matter how much food was left on their trays, went with him. Of course Marie Kanker was like every other girl in the school and before, in their younger years, had a crush on him. However she never personally had anything to do with Kevin, except for one time when she and her sisters had tortured him for giggles when they were in middle school. So she never really got to know him as a person. She was beginning to realize how charismatic the boy actually was.

The gears in her brain creaked and whined, but started to turn. It wasn't her poor Edd's fault that Kevin could absolutely control anyone with a smile or a laugh. He must've somehow brainwashed her dear love muffin into doing what he wanted. Yes that was it, Kevin was controlling Eddward. It _had_ to be! She gripped her fork tightly and addressed her sisters. "What time does basketball practice start?" May snorted and said, "Like I care about that crap." Lee replied, "Usually right after school." Both of the other Kanker sisters looked at her funny and she shrugged and said, "What? It's not my fault Nat's so dreamy when he gets sweaty."

It was about two minutes after school when Marie and her sisters stormed out of their final class and down the Junior hall, snarling at anyone who got in their way. As they made her way past the three Eds standing together at Eddy's locker, the girls all made cooing noises and blew kisses. Marie winked at Edd and called out to him, "Don't worry love bunny. I'll save you from that evil ginger boy." Edd got over the shock he was in to call out to her, "What in Heaven's name are you talking about?" Marie wasn't listening to him though, she was going straight into that gym and making a scene. She was gonna take back what was hers.

Edd panicked as he saw the three Kankers enter the gym and quickly motioned for his friends to follow him. Edd hurried them into the gym just as Kevin, Nat and a few other basketball guys were coming out of the changing room. As Marie marched up to him, Edd tried to yell out to her, "Marie! Cease this nonsense!" Derrick Todd secretly knew what they were there for, he had told Lee himself. But to keep up appearances, he stepped toward her, blocking her path to Kevin and growled, "What are _you_ doing here? Stupid girls."

May grabbed the larger boy by his larger shirt and pushed him aside, telling her sisters, "I got the hunky one." Then came Nat's turn. As he stepped up to shoo them, Lee shoved him backwards and advanced on him like a predator. "I got the cute one."

Marie faced Kevin, who glared at her and started, "What do you want, Kanker?" A loud slap echoed in the enormous room and Kevin reached his hand up to his stinging cheek. "What do you _think_ I want, stupid? I want you to back off my boyfriend!" Kevin rubbed his face for a moment before stretching his arms and neck intimidatingly, seeming ready to fight. "Alright. Now I'm mad. You better start making sense or I'm gonna kick your ugly ass out of here."

Edd quickly darted from his and his friends' place at the door. Before either of the two angry teens could lash out at the other again, he came between them. He faced Marie and started, "Marie! I forbid you to touch Kevin again!" Though the gym wasn't really silenced as the other two Kankers and athletes were both tousling with each other, there was a sort of quiet that fell upon the three teens that stood in the middle of the floor. Marie smirked at him and said, "Move out of the way, muffin." Edd shivered slightly at her voice but held fast regardless. "No. I will not let this unnecessary violence continue on!" By now the other players had come into the gym and were standing around them, staring with eyes wide open. Kevin talked to Edd's turned back, "Double D, get out of the way. I'll kick this bitch's ass, then you'll never have to worry about her again."

Edd glanced back at Kevin and asked him, "What difference does it make, Kevin? Even if you deal with Marie, you'll still have the rest of _them_ on your back for the remainder of the year." He motioned at the team who were all gawking. He turned slightly to look at Kevin a little better and continued on. "It would seem that nobody here approves of us, Kevin. We'll never be able to put a stop to people talking." Kevin's eyes narrowed at Edd as he kept talking. "However I can't watch you tire yourself trying to physically best everyone that threatens us. I don't want you to become a monster, I just want you to be yourself. If that means that we can't always be together in school, then I am willing to live with that. Can't you?"

Now Kevin felt like _he_ was the one who had just barged into the practice to start a fight. "Listen Double dweeb, I'm not just protecting you. I'm looking out for myself, too. I wouldn't have to, as you put it, '_physically best_' everyone if they'd just leave me the fuck alone!" Edd turned back to Marie and said, "If I leave with you, will you leave Kevin alone for good?" When Marie nodded, Edd turned to face Todd, who had lost May when she saw big Ed standing by the door and was standing amongst the crowd and addressed him as well. "And you. If I go with Marie will you and Tyler leave Kevin alone?" When the brute nodded his head, Edd turned back to Kevin and came up to him and cupped his hand around Kevin's perfect ear and whispered something into it.

Kevin looked at Edd with a sort of gentle look on his face as they pulled back and nodded slowly. Edd had whispered to him asking him to trust that he wouldn't allow Marie to put her filthy lips on him. As Edd let Marie grab him around his arm and drag him away, the other two Kankers joined her, having each grabbed their Ed. Kevin watched the six leave as the team surrounded him, making him lose sight of Edd. He always found the thought of a heart breaking to be cliché, but now he knew what it felt like. The only way he could keep Edd safe from the barbs of others was to not be with him, and that was almost more than he could take.

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Chapter 16 Part II

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True to his words, as soon as the Kankers had gotten the Eds down the front steps of the high school, Edd squirmed enough to make Marie turn and yell at him to stop moving. He and Eddy had halted the Kanker's movements by struggling away from the girls, wrenching their arm out of her grasp and pushing her away. Ed also forced May to let go of him by shoving her down, and the boys back away from them. Eddy began to yell at them, "ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH!" He screeched at them louder than he ever had at anyone else, even Kevin. "WE'RE IN HIGH SCHOOL NOW, DAMN IT. GROW UP AND TAKE A FUCKING HINT." Edd finally stood up to them himself and said, "Yes think about it, ladies. We've been avoiding you since middle school. We want absolutely nothing to do with you. At some point you're going to have to move on."

These biting words took a toll on the three girls and they just stood there and stared the boys, mouths agape. Eddy continued to rant on, "YOU'D THINK AFTER FIVE FUCKING YEARS OF BEEN REJECTED YOU'D JUST STOP MAKING FOOLS OUT OF YOURSELVES! STRAP ON A PAIR AND DEAL WITH IT. WE DON'T LIKE YOU. END OF STORY." Ed cowered behind Eddy and Edd the whole time, though he was taller and as if to emphasize their point, he yelled, "KANKERS! BAD FOR ED!" After the boys had finished their screaming episode, the Kankers were near tears, but they stood firmly. They complained and whined loudly about how their boyfriends didn't love them but did not burst into tears like they would have a few years ago. Well, true to Eddy's words it had been a long time. The boys were beyond puberty and knew what they wanted. At this point, all three of them would rather have literally anything other than the Kanker sisters.

As the girls moaned for themselves and made a scene as they normally would, Eddy motioned for the other two to follow and they didn't hesitate to skirt around the mess of angry hormonal girls and keep going. Edd however, being the gentle one felt bad through his disdain. He turned back to the girls and said softly, "You know, you ladies are wonderfully loyal and protective. Any male would be lucky to have a girlfriend like you girls." He didn't give them time to lash out at him because as soon as he finished, he scampered off to catch up with his friends.

They hurried back to the cul-de-sac in silence, frequently looking behind them in case of an ambush. Soon they were locked safe in Eddy's bedroom, and Eddy flopped down on his bed while Ed threw himself on the soft armchair. Edd disregarded the germs and whatever else there could be on Eddy's floor and sat down against the wall, huffing and panting. After a minute Eddy sat up and looked Edd in the eyes and said, "Sockhead I'm gonna ask you something, but only once. So just tell me the first time. What _is_ it with you and Kevin? Are you guys really together?"

Edd caught his breath but did not answer right away. Fear tore through his mind. Surely Eddy would overreact once more if he answered without pushing it, so he turned up and looked back into Eddy's hazel eyes and said, "I will only answer if you will still be my friend. If you will refrain from getting angry with me I will answer, but not until." The three boys looked between each other and finally Eddy nodded, still panting slightly from the run and so Edd answered, "Kevin and I are seeing each other, yes." Eddy didn't react for a moment, instead he threw himself back down on the bed and laid there for a while. Ed looked between them before he slumped in his chair. Finally Eddy asked simply, "How long has it been?"

Edd thought about it, this being the first time he actually counted the days. "I believe it was a month today." He felt terrible as the memory of what just took place in the gym came over him. He brought his knees up to his chin and rested his face in them. As Eddy began to talk again and ask what he was thinking, Ed paused him and said, "Look Eddy." He pointed at a distraught Edd on the floor crying quietly. Eddy raised an eyebrow and said, "I haven't said anything!" Edd looked up at them slowly and was silent for a moment. "…It's just that, nobody cares about what Kevin and I think. To everyone, it's so wrong for us to even be _friends_! It's just not fair, Eddy!"

Eddy made a frustrated noise, mostly because he was mad at himself for helping contribute to Edd's pain. He pushed himself up off the bed and Ed did the same from the chair and they approached their sad friend. Sitting down on the floor around him, Eddy put his hand on Edd's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry Sockhead." Edd watched him for a moment, before he realized that Eddy was truly sorry. Ed grinned and said, "Guys are okay. Kevin is nice." Eddy scowled at him and said, "Nice if he were dead, you mean?" Edd smiled slightly at his friends, feeling better. Soon the boys were laughing together as they recollected the events that had just taken place. Edd had been the first to stand up to Kanker, the boys had shoved the girls around for the first time and best of all, they told them off.

After a snack of pretzel rolls and soda, the three lazed around Eddy's living room, the TV blaring and comic books and magazines scattered all around the floor. Edd sat in the recliner watching as Eddy flipped through the channels when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the bright LED screen. Someone was calling him, but he didn't recognize the phone number. He knew Ed's and Eddy's numbers by heart and Kevin was in his contacts. Choosing to ignore it, he put the phone back in his pocket and returned his attention to the TV.

Meanwhile Kevin hung up the phone in his coach's office and sighed, running his hand through his hair. He had left his phone at his locker and couldn't leave the gym during practice. He made up some excuse that he needed to call his parents and ran into the office. When Edd had told him that they couldn't be together without approval and rushed out with Marie, it felt as though Edd was breaking up with him. Kevin sat down in the chair and bent over to put his face in his hands. He was going to tell Edd on the phone that he refused to let things end there.

The door opened and the coach stepped into the office. He didn't say anything to Kevin as he made his way over to his desk and sat down. For a while he watched Kevin, his tired wrinkled face as placid as ever. Finally he spoke softly, "Kevin is there something you need to talk about?" Kevin took his hands away from his face and shook his head. "No sir."

The coach opened his desk drawer and pulled out his glasses and put them on, turning his attention to the paperwork laying on the surface. For a moment Kevin wasn't sure if he should leave or not, the older man seemed to have nothing more to say. After the silence had become too much, Kevin cleared his throat and began, "It's just so messed up, coach. Why can't I be with Double D and everyone just be alright with it? Now he won't even answer me when I try to talk to him."

The coach looked over the rims of his spectacles and asked him, "Does it really bother you that much about what people say?" Kevin shook his head and replied, "No, it just bothers me when they confront us like they have been. Coach, Todd and Jackson have beaten the shit out of Edd before just for watching me practice. I _have_ to stand up to people! Edd can't protect himself from them." The coach nodded and replied, "You know, Kevin. The problem is, you both aren't getting adults involved. You should have at least told _me_ what was going on. If you wanna go beating the hell out of people outside school, be my guest. However the rules do not allow that at school. You'll get into as much trouble as those who started it." He leaned back in his chair and continued to eye the teen. "It seems that Edd is trying to protect you as well, just in a different way. He's protecting you by staying away from you and your teammates." Kevin nodded and let the man go on. "I can't say I agree with your…personal preferences Kevin, but I cannot control what you do on your own time, nor do I want to. Nobody else can, either. You just have to remember that." The coach filed his papers neatly, then stood up and moved back around his desk, offering Kevin a strong hand. As he pulled Kevin up from the chair, he said, "Son, why don't you take practice off this afternoon. You're all shaken up and the team has been giving you a rough time. You won't play at your best level if you're angry with them. So go on home today, I will have a chat with the team. Just keep in mind that _you_ are the team's captain. At some point, you will have to meet them in the middle."

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Okay, so while uploading this, I accidentally failed and copied Chapter 15 here and called it Chapter 16. That's because I usually just copy the chapter right outta my Word Document and right onto here, and I copied more than just this chapter. I think I fixed it, but if there are any confusing parts that looks like two different stories, let me know.

Also, as usual if you see any mistakes please let me know!


	17. Chapter 17

Changed the summary a bit. Nothing much, I just thought it sucked.

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The days had become cooler and cooler. From warm, 58 degree autumn afternoons to quiet, chilly afternoons that just barely stayed above freezing. However, that next day, the temperature didn't pass 32 degrees, and snow was beginning to fall from the heavens. This cold, silent day took an even worse toll on Edd and Kevin's feelings. Edd was taking it hard ever since he had left the day before and Kevin never called him or sent him a text. Edd had feared that he had ruined their relationship by refusing to let Kevin hit Marie. However, even as annoying as the Kankers were, even as vulgar, disgusting and pushy as they were known to be, Edd believed that, with the exception of self-defense, any male that would hit a woman out of anger was lower than dirt. He didn't want to believe Kevin would be that low, and mostly that fear drove him to come between them. Now it seemed Kevin wanted nothing to do with him.

Edd had gotten to school rather early, hoping to see Kevin after practice. However upon arrival he noticed that the gym was empty and nobody was in the halls except him and the occasional teacher leaving the lounge. Dropping his bag off at his locker, he looked up and down the hall, hoping to find at least one member of the basketball team, however he saw none. So he took out one of his numerous books and leaned against his locker. He did read the pages, however his thoughts weren't about the book itself, so he found himself reading the same paragraph over and over. He glanced up several times but he never saw the red-haired athlete he cared so much about.

Minutes ticked by and soon Edd found himself walking up and down the hall with his book in hand. A few early birds started to come in the doors but none of them were the one he wanted to see. Sadness overcame him, but he would not cry. There was no point in making a fool of himself in the school. He stood by the doors, hope filled his mind. Maybe he wouldn't be able to talk to Kevin, true, but as long as he could see him that was all he needed. However the clock soon came to show 7:50 and Kevin hadn't walked through the doors yet. Edd closed the book he had been trying to read for the last twenty minutes and started back to his locker to get his things.

As he rounded the corner, he caught sight of the very person he had been hunting down. Kevin was standing with his usual group. Apparently somebody had said something vulgar or unbelievable, as Kevin's brows were wrinkled and he was laughing. Edd wasn't paying attention to where he was going and ran right into Eddy, who was standing at his locker. Eddy whipped around and started to yell, but he realized who it was and said, "Damn, sockhead. Watch where you're going." Edd bit his lip and turned his gaze to Eddy. "My apologies Eddy." Eddy turned back to his locker and said, "Say, why aren't you with your boyfriend? He's over there you know."

Edd felt that sadness eat him up again and he stuttered for a moment before he said, "Oh, well I'm afraid we're having some issues." As Edd opened up his locker, he grabbed out his books while Eddy talked and when he shut his locker, he turned around and stood against his locker and half-listened to Eddy drone on. He glanced at Kevin, and Kevin was still laughing with his group. That smile was intoxicating. His teeth were so pearly white, and there wasn't a gap between his front teeth, unlike his own. It was a perfect smile to go on a perfect face. Edd didn't realize he was staring until Kevin's eyes happened to look over and lock with his. Edd jerked into a straight position, tore his eyes away from Kevin and cut Eddy off. "Well I hate to be rude but I gotta get to class!" Eddy stood there dumbfounded as Edd bolted off, and he called out, "Sockhead! Where ya goin'?!"

Their first class together was painfully awkward. As much as Kevin wanted to tease Edd or mess with him as he usually did, when he passed Edd to go to his seat, all he could do was stare straight forward and ignore him. Edd wouldn't even look at him as he passed and during the lesson, there was no whispering or wads of paper being thrown at the back of the dork's head. Kevin never even got up once the entire lesson so Edd couldn't see him. After the bell had rang, Edd had taken off like a rocket, and Kevin soon pushed away the guys around him and did the same. They avoided each other in the halls as best they could, Edd would simply try to run from Kevin, and Kevin would surround himself with people and talk and pretend to laugh and take interest in what they were saying.

It was finally time for Edd to go aid the nurse, his favorite hour of the day. As he was putting all of his other things away in his locker, it as usual. Kevin was on the other side but they wouldn't even acknowledge each other. Edd heard a light voice laughing behind him and he glanced in the mirror on his locker door while pinning his name badge onto his jacket. he caught sight of Kevin and Nazz standing together, Nazz was saying something about how funny Kevin was and before he knew it they were hugging each other and laughing some more. It was more than Edd could handle in that moment.

Anna came up to Edd, unaware of anything that was happening that day and tried to talk to him. She gasped when he looked at her and exclaimed a little louder than Edd would have liked, "Double D! Are you crying?" Edd didn't answer her, humiliated, he turned on his heel and made for the nurse's office. Anna wasn't one to be shaken off so easily, though. She chased him down the hall but he didn't want to talk. After he dodged her twice, she finally gave up and let him walk away.

As she watched her downhearted friend walk into the nurse's, a voice to her right said, "Hey lil mama, get out of the way." She turned to see a teal-haired jock surrounded by others walking her way. She moved over for them, but Nat stopped. "I know you! You're Double dork's friend." Anna nodded and said, "I can't figure out what's wrong with him though. He's been acting all weird today." Nat realized she had no idea of what had happened last night and said, "Walk with me, lil mama. I'll tell you about it."

The nurse had sent Edd to the front office to make some copies for her, so he wasn't around the first half of the class period. Apparently it had been enough time for someone to come in, though. When Edd came back and laid the papers on her desk, he noticed that the sign out sheet was open and Kevin's name was written down on it. Edd tried to look away, telling himself that he didn't care, but his heart kept telling him to look. He glanced at the paper to see that Kevin had been signed out a little over ten minutes prior, due to fever.

A tiny splash of worry grew in Edd's brain and got larger with each passing moment. As he rushed around the office doing various chores, he found himself trying to do them faster, and his hands were clumsier. Finally, after knocking over a container of cotton swabs, he cleaned up and asked the nurse if Kevin looked okay when he had come in. She said he was very pale, and very warm but otherwise looked fine, it was his temperature that made her send him home. Edd paused, then asked if he could go to his locker.

When he got there, he reached into his bookbag and pulled out his phone. He paused for a moment, wondering if this was the right thing to do. He ignored the caution in his mind for once and opened up a blank text. He asked Kevin if he was alright, but that was it. Nothing more to say unless Kevin replied. Edd put his phone in his pocket and headed back to the nurse's. By the time lunch came around, Kevin still had not responded. Edd sat with Ed and Eddy at lunch, but ignored everything they said, concentrating on his phone. Eddy had to shake him multiple times and repeat himself just so Edd would answer him.

Edd was never one to skip school for any reason at all, though today he seriously considered it. The last three hours were excruciating. However if Edd had known what he would find, the wait would have been twice as painful. Edd excused himself to the restroom more times that afternoon than he ever had in his life just so he could check his phone without the attention. Still no answer from Kevin, though. As soon as school was out, Edd made a break for the doors. He made a half attempt and looking for Anna to let her know she would be walking alone today, but when he did spot her, he noticed that she was with Nat. Figuring she wouldn't miss him, Edd continued on without saying anything to her.

Edd was the first person on the bus and sat at the very front, ignoring what the other kids said. Ed and Eddy joined him after a while and yet again, Edd was too worried about Kevin to hear what Eddy was saying. What if Kevin wasn't answering him because he was too weak? Or if Kevin was more than sick, if he needed hospitalization? What if he were_dying_? Edd bit his lip so hard, he drew blood with the sharp, exposed edges of his two front teeth. When the bus came to their stop, Edd made his way off calmly, as to not hurt himself or anyone else trying to get off, then as soon as his feet hit the snow-covered sidewalk, he was at a dead run to the cul-de-sac.

When he came to Kevin's house, it was apparent than his parents were still at work. Edd banged on the door and called his name frantically. However there was no answer. So Edd quickly ran around to look into the window of Kevin's living room. All the lights were off as far as he could tell. Was Kevin even at home? Maybe that's why his parents were gone. Maybe Kevin had actually _needed_ to go to the hospital. Edd finally gave up trying to get into the empty house and turned to see Eddy and Ed standing on the sidewalk behind him, staring. He scowled at him. "What?"

They both shook their heads and Eddy said, "Jeez, Double D. You're more annoying as a boyfriend than a friend." Edd ignored Eddy's remark and bid them a good evening as he made his way across to his house. When he entered, he called out a tired hello to his parents then retreated up to his room. Thinking about the day's events, and Kevin being sick made it very hard for Edd to not get upset. He laid down on his bed and buried his face into his pillow, where Kevin's head had once rested. Edd couldn't help the couple tears that he did shed, it was all too much. Nazz hugging Kevin…had the jock moved on from him so fast?

Edd's mother knocked on his door and called gently, "Eddward, don't you want to come out and talk to us?" Edd turned his face to the door and replied, "Not at present, Mother. I've had an awful day, and I just want to be alone right now." His mother was quiet for a moment before she said, "Alright dear, when you're ready to discuss it, come on out." Edd cried for a bit more before he felt himself drift off into a nap.

Sometime later, Edd awoke with a start and looked around for the clock. Though it wasn't that late, it was dark outside thanks to the winter. Deciding that he probably owed his parents an explanation for his behavior, Edd stood from his bed and left to go downstairs and find them. Instead of his parents, he found a note on the table that read-

_Eddward-_

_Your father and I went out to dinner. Since you were sleeping I figured it would be best to just bring you something back later._

_I love you –Mother_

Edd put the note back down on the table and sighed gently. As he walked back through the living room and up the stairs, his doorbell rang. Thinking it was Eddy, Edd opened the door and was about to tell him to leave, but he came face-to-face with a disheveled Kevin leaning against his doorframe. Edd gasped and said, "K-KEVIN! What are you doing here?" Kevin looked up at him and Edd could immediately appreciate his blood-shot eyes. Kevin scowled at him and drawled, "You know, we could've be just fine if you would've let me kick that girl's ass." Edd narrowed his eyes and asked, "Kevin…are you okay? What happened?" The jock looked like he had been stumbling around, falling on the ground. His face and neck were scraped up, and his lower lip was chapped and split in the middle.

The jock ignored him and pushed his way into Edd's house out of the cold. He stumbled into Edd's living room and sat down on the couch. Edd followed him and sat down beside him. "Kevin?" Kevin looked at Edd for a moment, before he sighed and said, "I just had a rough time at home." Edd's eyes widened. Did Kevin mean that his parents...? The athlete had other things on his mind however and went on, "Dork, you ignored my phone calls, ran away from me all day, couldn't even fucking _look me in the eye_, and made a fool of yourself in front of Anna today. All I have to say is, what the hell?!" Edd quickly shushed him and said, "That shouldn't be your concern right now, Kevin." He lifted Kevin's red cap up slightly and placed a hand on his forehead. To his surprise, Kevin wasn't hot. Edd stood up, trying to pull Kevin up with him. "Kevin we have to get you to bed so you can fight this fever."

Kevin snorted and said, "I don't have a fever, Double dweeb. I faked it so I could go home." Edd paused and looked down at Kevin's blue eyes. "It hurt to watch you run away from me. I couldn't take it anymore. And when Nazz hugged me, and Anna said you started crying…" Kevin couldn't finish. He looked away in shame. Edd began to realize what was going on, and slowly knelt down in front of him and muttered, "I thought you didn't want me anymore…I stopped you from fighting and told you that you were becoming a monster...I thought you had finished with me and moved on." Kevin looked back at Edd, his mouth slightly agape. He pulled Edd up from his knees and pulled him onto his lap. Edd straddled him, missing the feeling of Kevin's body so close to his and that beautiful, musky smell. Kevin brought Edd's face closer to his and rested his forehead against Edd's and said, "I could never just forget about you like that. I thought you were afraid of me." He didn't allow Edd to speak, instead he claimed his lips. They kissed gently, Kevin's tongue passed over into Edd's mouth briefly.

For the third time that day, Edd felt a hot tear slide down his cheek. But for the first time, it was out of joy. Kevin reached up and brushed the tear away before he whispered, "Damn it, Edd. Why didn't you answer my call?" Edd stuttered briefly before he said, "W-Well I didn't know it was you calling me. Besides, you never responded to my text message." Kevin sighed. "Yeah I know. I was just scared. I didn't know what would happen if I answered you." Edd wrapped his arms around Kevin's shoulders and hugged him tightly. "Please, you should never be afraid of _me_, Kevin." Kevin gently ran his hand up and down Edd's back soothingly and said, "And you should never be afraid of me, either."

It wasn't that long after they had made up that the boys found themselves in Edd's room. Kevin had almost dragged Edd all the way down the hall, kissing him as they went. Edd didn't fight back at all, wanting it as much as Kevin did. As it had come to be, Kevin would immediately strip them both the minute they got into the room and Edd started to pull Kevin towards the bed, but the athlete stopped him. He pulled Edd's face to his, stealing a tiny kiss and whispered, "Let me try something."

Kevin pushed Edd back into the wall. His naked figure covered Edd's thinner one. Edd let a small whimper as Kevin's hard cock pressed against his own. Kevin smirked and kissed Edd hard on the mouth. Edd's lips immediately parted and let Kevin's tongue in to ravage his own. They lapped at, sucked on, and fought each other for dominance for quite some time, although Edd wasn't surprised in the end when Kevin won. Kevin's strong arms wrapped around Edd's shoulders and he wound one hand up in Edd's dark locks.

Kevin kissed Edd again and this time motioned with his tongue in Edd's mouth what he wanted to be doing with his lower half. Edd broke their kiss and gasped for air as Kevin lifted him off the ground. Instinctively Edd's legs snaked around his waist while Kevin gripped his buttocks. Edd brought his hands up to hold Kevin's face and he muttered, "I've never met anyone like you… You're amazing."

Even in his wild animal-like state, Kevin managed to gentle down some, and rested his forehead against Edd's. "And you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, babe." Edd smiled a little and managed a tiny "Really? You mean that?" Kevin nodded and whispered, "Nobody can compare to you. Your body is perfect." They stared into each other's eyes for a while, saying nothing and sharing an occasional kiss.

Soon though, Kevin's arousal got the better of him and with a grunt, he got himself into position. Edd turned his head to the side and gripped Kevin's shoulders tightly as he slid into him, biting into his pale shoulder the whole time.

Even though this was only the second time that Kevin had taken Edd, it didn't hurt nearly as badly in this position as Edd thought it would. He did feel some discomfort and vocalized it softly with another whimper, but soon that wonderful feeling of being full and complete replaced the tight uncomfortableness.

From this position, Kevin could reach a place within Edd that was previously untouchable. Every time he thrusted, Edd's body would jerk and he would cry out and cling to him. Whatever this place was, Kevin would have to memorize it. He took a bit of flesh from Edd's neck between his teeth and sucked on it lightly as he continued to thrust in and out in a slow pattern.

Edd's arms slid around his shoulders to his back, his tiny fingernails scratching at Kevin's skin. Kevin released Edd's neck to moan lowly and he whispered into his ear, "Do that again. Harder." Edd complied, not having the ability to think at the moment, and scratched Kevin's back harder, leaving red lines in his wake.

Kevin's shoulders quivered and he made a noise of approval and returned to leaving teeth marks on Edd's neck and shoulder. He quickened his thrusting and bit down particularly hard on Edd's skin, causing the latter to yelp. He gently ran his tongue over the new wound that had started to bleed a bit and kissed it lightly before he whispered, "Keep scratching me, babe."

Edd complied and damn near broke skin in some places. At a particularly painful scratch on his shoulder, Kevin moaned and jerked his hips harshly, ramming that spot within Edd and causing him to scream out Kevin's name. The athlete adored the sound of his love screaming his name, so he adjusted his grip on Edd's cheeks, keeping him pinned up against the wall and he drilled into Edd mercilessly, determined to get that sound out of Edd's throat again. Edd turned his head to the side and cried Kevin's name quite a few more times until he felt that warm edge start growing in his stomach. By now both boys were sweaty and it was getting difficult for Kevin to keep hold of Edd.

Kevin then brought his face up to just mere centimeters from the side of Edd's and he murmured, "Look at me." A flush crossed Edd's face, but he did not comply, so Kevin leaned in and licked Edd's cheek, knowing how germs disgusted his love.

He commanded again, "Look at me, Edd." Slowly Edd turned to face Kevin, who smiled and pressed his forehead against Edd's as he thrusted wildly. When he hit that sweet spot deep within him again, Edd quivered and closed his eyes, murmuring, "Kevin! I'm g-gonna…"

Kevin knew immediately and said "Eyes open, Edd. Watch yourself cum on me. Watch me cum into you." Edd's emerald green eyes peeked open at Kevin, who tightened his grip on Edd and began to grunt and moan as he thrusted harder and harder into Edd.

They never broke eye contact, even as Edd came crashing over his edge, spilling his seed out all over Kevin's torso. Kevin's long red bangs stuck fast to Edd's sweaty forehead, which was smashed against his own as Kevin stared at him, screaming as he reveled in his own orgasm deep inside of Edd. He had never had an orgasm as powerful as this one, waves of pleasure swept over him and he almost lost his grip on Edd. He gasped for air and continued to moan quietly even as his he pulled his limp shaft from Edd. His orgasm was so strong that it left him shaking, something that he could never have done for himself.

Slowly the boys slid down the wall and Edd sat against the wall, breathing deeply. Kevin crouched in front of him, his head rested on Edd's shoulder. The sock-headed Ed waited until Kevin had calmed down a bit before he opened his mouth. "Kevin…?" The jock raised his head to look at him, waiting for him to speak. "…I-I love you." Kevin's eyes widened and he stared at Edd for a moment. "W-What?" Edd bit his lip and nodded. "Y-You heard me correctly."

This stunned Kevin. Not that Edd felt such strong feelings for him, but he never heard those words from anyone. His parents loved alcohol and spending money, not their son. The last time his mother said she loved him was when he was 8 years old, after he had found a $20 bill in the street and brought it home and she tricked him into giving it to her. He just never heard those words and to hear Edd say them made him question if Edd was thinking things through.

Edd could immediately tell he made a mistake. All Kevin could do was sit there with a cold expression on his face. Edd pushed him away and stood up on jelly-like legs. He crossed over to his pile of clothes and picked them up. "I apologize Kevin. I was just caught up in the moment."

Kevin sat there staring after him, not even registering what had happened. Edd gathered his clothes in his hands and took one last look at Kevin, heartbroken. As he started to leave his bedroom, Kevin's brain finally kicked in.

'_YOU IDIOT! Go after him! Don't lose him AGAIN!_'

Kevin stood suddenly and said, "Double D, wait!" He grabbed Edd and cradled the skinny boy in his arms. He nuzzled his face against Edd's and whispered, "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm not used to hearing those words." Emerald eyes looked into sapphire eyes as Kevin murmured, "I love you too."

That was all Edd needed to hear to become the happiest boy of all.


	18. Chapter 18

When Edd's parents returned home, the boys were already re-dressed and sitting on the couch watching TV. However their encounter turned out to be less than pleasant. When Edd's parents came through the door and Edd greeted them as usual, they did not respond. Instead they looked from Edd to Kevin with a bit of disdain before going and setting their bag of leftovers in the kitchen. Edd could immediately tell something was up and sat straight, while Kevin looked from the kitchen to Edd then back again. "You're parents aren't much for chat, are they?"

Edd bit his lip and responded, "I think something's wrong. They aren't usually like this." True to his words, Edd's parents then came back into the room, shut the television off and each took a chair, facing the boys with stern but silent expressions. Edd then dared to ask them, "Is something the matter?" Edd's father turned and looked at his mother, who cleared her throat and said, "Eddward dear, we need to talk." Kevin started to stand up and mentioned that he should probably get going, but Edd's father stopped him. "No sir. You are just as involved in this as Eddward is. Now sit down and listen." When Kevin sat back down, Edd's mother started in. "Boys, we ran into the basketball coach while we were out."

Panic hit both of the boys like a ton of bricks and Kevin even gripped the arm of the couch. Both of them turned very pale as she continued. "He has made us…aware of the situation going on. Eddward is it really true that you and this boy are…in an intimate relationship?" Edd felt the shame in his heart spreading and he nodded, unable to speak. His father's stern voice broke the silence. "Is it also true that you threw yourself into a physical confrontation in the middle of basketball practice yesterday?" When Edd nodded again, his parents looked at each other.

Then Edd's father turned on Kevin. "And _you_, young man. You were sincerely considering laying your hands on a female? You had every intention to beat her up?" Kevin's eyes were cast downwards, but he lifted them to gaze at the angry man across from him and replied slowly, "Yes sir, but before you punish Edd and send me away, you outta know why I did it." Edd's father reached up and wrapped his fingers around his chin and said, "Alright, I will give you _one_ chance to make me change my mind about you."

Kevin swallowed the lump that was in his throat. If he was going to explain, he wasn't going to do it in a cowardly manner. "Sir, if you would have asked me two months ago if I had any feelings for your son, I would have laughed. You probably know as well as Edd does how awful I treated him when we were in middle school. All the times I would beat him and his friends up…" Edd's father's cold expression did not change. He merely nodded and waited for him to speak, and his mother's face wasn't much friendlier, so he took a breath and continued. "I had _no idea_ what I was getting into. It was raining after school and I offered Edd a ride home. Ever since then I couldn't stop thinking about all those times. It just made me feel worse and worse."

Edd's father shook his head and stated, "Are you going to come to the point any time soon, boy?" Kevin bit back a scathing remark, and forced himself to nod, Edd simply sat on his end of the couch and stared at Kevin, mouth agape as he continued. "So that day a few weeks back when Edd got beat up by those two jerks, it just added to my guilt, you know? Those guys were on _my_ team, they were _my_ friends, and at one point, I was no better than them."

Kevin had to stop and swallow another lump that had formed in his throat. "That's when our 'relationship' thing really started because that was the day I started looking out for Edd. When someone picked on him, I'd pick on them right back. It was the only way to get them to leave him alone, sir. Edd tried his hardest to talk to people, but nobody listened. Everyone, even Eddy and Ed, who are supposed to be his best friends, all turned their backs on Edd. After the first night of the tournament, that Kanker girl tracked me down and told me that Edd wasn't mine to protect and, I don't know…I just got so upset. I know that it's wrong to hurt people, but nobody else seems to know that."

Edd's parents were silent for a moment, before his mother looked at him and said, "Eddward, is this true? You've been a victim this whole time?" Edd's eyes were still glued to Kevin, but he nodded slowly. He then turned to her and replied, "Mother, I know that homosexuality is condemned by most of society. But I deeply care for Kevin. I-I guess always have, even before when _he_ was the one hurting me." It was Kevin's turn to stare.

"I always wanted to be Kevin's friend, it seemed he had everything. Friends, money, material things that were of great value in those days, but he and Eddy couldn't stand each other, so I never got the chance to befriend him. Then Kevin started to stick up for me and…you must understand that Kevin means more to me than anybody has in a long time. Please don't tell me that I can't be with him. The people at school have already driven us away. Well, driven me away. They all swore to quit bullying us if we swore to never be seen together at school. I can't just lose him here, too."

Edd's father spoke, his voice raised. "So you're telling me that you've gotten involved with a childhood bully then made him try to fix all the problems you have with your peers, and now you are proscribed from the school for this…this taboo?! Eddward _how_ can you possibly think that this is going to help you maintain excellent grades? If you're fooling around with other boys and your GPA drops, you'll never get accepted at Cambridge, or Harvard. All your hard work will be for nothing! This is certainly not right!" Kevin then tried to speak up, "Sir he didn't _make_ me do anything!" His father turned on him and said, "Do not speak unless you are spoken to, young man."

Edd wrung his hands together as he shifted on the couch. "Father, my grades have not changed one bit throughout this endeavor. It has just been a long month of misfortune." His father gave a sharp laugh, then leaned on the arm of his chair and rested his forehead on his hand. Edd's mother looked him gently and asked, "Eddward, you truly care for Kevin? You realize that as long as Kevin is your partner, if there is becomes a consistent problem with your GPA he will have to go."

Edd looked up at her, then to his father, who looked over at Kevin and said, "Mr. Barr, I want you to understand two things. The first; I know your parents well. I understand that they aren't really parental material and that you really can't be blamed for some of the things you do." Kevin tensed up as he spoke of them, but he didn't let his temper get to him. This man knew nothing of what his parents were like.

Edd's father continued. "I know what you are capable of, I've seen you perform such acts on my son before. However that is where I come in. Your parents may not care about what you do when you're out of the house, however I do care. Therefore, so long as you are with Eddward, his mother and I are going to become a type of surrogate family to you." Kevin couldn't help the raised eyebrow, but he didn't argue with the man.

"That brings me to my second topic. As a surrogate father, I am going to forbid you from hurting another person for your own benefit, _especially_ my son. If I hear of you doing so, not only will you have to answer to me, you will be cut off from seeing Eddward for good, is that clear?" Kevin only nodded, his eyes locked tight to the floor. Edd's mother gently said, "You both are sixteen years old, almost seventeen. You can make your own decisions. We can't stop you from having this relationship if it makes you happy. However, it's time to start acting like the adults you are becoming."

Edd's parents departed for their bedroom, leaving a silent Edd and Kevin on the couch. This was the worst lecture Edd had gotten since the 'groceries-are-not-toys talk' four years ago. He was still slightly paled as Kevin coughed and shifted a bit. He looked over at Kevin, whose face was twisted in thought for a moment. "Damn…" Edd whispered, "Language, Kevin…" Kevin glanced up at him. "Sorry. It's just that… there's never any kind of talk like that at my house. If I did something wrong, my old man would have just yelled about me being stupid, then decked me. Maybe took my allowance away, but he'd never just stand there and preach. I feel like I'm in school here."

Edd scooted closer to Kevin, reaching out and grasping the sleeve of his hoodie gently. "Kevin." The athlete looked up at him and he continued. "You don't have to live in a place where you are neglected or hurt. Y-You could come live here with me." Kevin smiled at him and reached up to take hold of Edd's chin and jerk it away slightly in a playful manner. "Nah man, I don't belong here. My place is across the street." Edd pressed his lips together momentarily before he said, "You always have a place with me."

Kevin sighed and took off his red cap to scratch the back of his head. "Well thanks." Edd nodded and sat quietly, releasing the other's sleeve and folded his hands in his lap, deep in thought. The athlete smirked and put his hat back on and startled Edd out of his stupor, "You know, this place is too much like a school…or a prison…" Edd scowled and said, "This is my home, thank you!" Kevin leaned back into the couch and said, "Nobody should live in such a cold place." Edd retorted defiantly, "This is not a cold place. This is a place where I can come to relax or study. I belong with it." Kevin shook his head and took hold of Edd's shoulders. "Well you also _belong_ to me, and I say it's time I took you somewhere else."

Edd yelped as Kevin yanked him into a bear hug, constricting his arms. "You mean like a date?" Kevin looked down at him, blue eyes sparkling. "Date, vacation, moving away...Take your pick." Edd made a noise of disapproval and Kevin laughed. "Yeah, I owe it to ya, dork. Where do you wanna go?" The strength in Kevin's arms was enough to render Edd motionless, so all he could do was lean against the jock and think. "You don't owe me a thing, Kevin." Kevin snorted and said, "Yeah I do. A date is the least I could do. So pick."

"W-Well there really isn't all that much to do in Peach Creek. We really can't go anywhere that we haven't already been." Kevin smirked and said, "Then here's an idea. Think of somewhere _outside_ Peach Creek, ya dork." Edd's eyebrows furrowed under the rim of his cap and he replied, "We have no mode of transportation." Kevin pulled one arm away to pull his ski hat over his eyes playfully and said, "No, _you_ don't have a mode of transportation." He got up, Edd still in his arms and guided him to the front door. "I'll show you."

Through the chill of the snowy night, and Edd's constant whining about being out in it, Kevin managed to pull Edd all the way to his garage. He flipped on the light and brought Edd around his parents' locked car over to the corner where it sat. Edd tilted his head and observed it. "A broken motorcycle?" Kevin shoved his hands in his pockets and said, "Yeah, it's my old man's. He hasn't ridden it in years though. It needs a new fuel injector and probably a new battery." Edd nodded and muttered, "A common problem." Kevin watched as Edd looked it over. It really was a beautiful machine. It was cherry red, and the side had tiny silver letters that read _Raider_. Edd turned and asked, "It's a Raider? What year?" Kevin bit his lip and thought. "God, hell if I know… I'm gonna say '04?" Edd nodded and continued to inspect the dusty vehicle and Kevin said, "We can go wherever you want to after we get this fixed up."

Edd checked everything on the bike, there was a slight bit of rusting, and Kevin was correct in assuming that the motor had a problem with accepting fuel, and as he looked, he glanced over to Kevin and said, "But Kevin, you don't have your license, do you?" With a smirk, the ginger athlete whipped out his wallet and plucked the white card from one of the slots. "Got it as soon as I turned sixteen." Edd turned back to the bike, and Kevin put his wallet back in his pocket. "So, you think you can help me fix it up?" Edd turned and gave him one of his signature gap-toothed grins and said, "No problem! With the proper tools, and warmer weather, I should be able to-" Kevin cut him off with a kiss. The ginger pushed on him until he backed into the wall. Edd broke the kiss and said, "Kevin! This wall is crawling with germs and dirt, let me up!"

Kevin chuckled and said, "Dirt doesn't crawl, duh." Edd went to protest, but Kevin kissed him again, sliding his tongue across into Edd's mouth. After a heated dance between their tongues, they pulled away for air and Kevin rested his forehead against Edd's. Edd smiled sheepishly and asked, "Where did that come from?" Kevin responded by pushing his hips against Edd's. The sock-headed Ed shivered and mumbled, "You cannot possibly be ready to copulate again?" Kevin smirked and said, "What can I say? I'm a horny bastard." Edd laughed as Kevin claimed his lips again, and again, hands roaming his body.

After a quick, but spicy make out session in the garage, Kevin led Edd into his house, through the kitchen and towards his room. However just as the two boys had reached his door, a sort of rumbling sounded in the next room down the hall and a loud deep voice yelled, "_KEVIN, GET YOUR ASS IN HERE BOY_." Kevin cursed under his breath, then turned back to a rather pale and confused Sockhead. "Guess you're gonna meet my parents."


	19. Chapter 19

Hey I got internet back! :D Here's the next chapter, sorry it's so short but I figured you guys would want it.

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They walked down the hall together, Kevin leading. When they stopped at his parents' door, Kevin held Edd away and pushed the door open. Edd couldn't see into the room from where he was standing, but the smell of alcohol was heavy and it made him gag. Kevin seemed unfazed by the smell, and shoved his hands in his pockets and said, "What do you want?"

The man's voice erupted again louder. "Got a call from the coach today 'bout your practices. What's this about you and a kid named Eddward together?" Kevin's face never changed from his hard state as Edd nervously watched him. What was going to happen? Would Kevin get punished for something Edd was doing? Would Kevin's father hurt him, too? This was far too much! Kevin cleared his throat and replied, "I dunno, uh maybe Edd's my _friend_ and the other guys were picking on him, so I beat the shit out of them."

Edd flinched at Kevin's harsh language and bit his lip. Kevin's father's voice made the walls rattle. "_DON'T YOU LIE TO ME, BOY! YOU'RE SEEING THAT LITTLE SHIT, AREN'T YOU_?!" Kevin glanced at Edd, motioning with his head back down the hall. Edd looked down there, then back at Kevin, confused as to what the jock was thinking. Kevin muttered to him, '_Go._' But Edd didn't move a muscle. He straightened himself up and faced Kevin, whispering to him, "_I'm not leaving you alone with him_."

Kevin's father barked again, "Who are you talking to, boy?" Kevin looked back and forth from Edd to his father. Edd nodded his head gently, and Kevin understood. He licked his lower lip and said, "I'm talking to Edd right now." Edd trembled a bit as he heard heavy footsteps coming towards the door. He found that he was more afraid of Kevin's father than Todd or Jackson. Kevin immediately reacted, reaching out with his arm and pushing Edd back behind him as he backed away from the doorway.

A rather tall, beefy version of Kevin came around the corner into view and glared at the two boys. Fiery red hair that could only match Kevin's covered every inch of his father's chin and arms. His brown eyes were slightly crossed and his harsh, slurred voice was directed at Edd this time. "So you're the reason Kevin never comes home? He's been with _you_? A scrawny little chicken bone?"

Edd panicked, and started to speak but Kevin nudged him with his elbow and hissed at him to shut up. The athlete faced the disheveled man and said, "Leave him out of this, dad!" The man who looked just like Kevin glared at him and snarled, "_DON'T_ talk to me like that, boy. I did _NOT_ raise my boy to like being fucked up the ass!" Edd had never known Kevin to back off of anyone at all, so Kevin's father must have been hell on his son. The man's fist hit the wall rather hard and Edd cowered behind Kevin, who continued to push him backwards. The sockhead couldn't take his eyes off the man in front of them, not knowing what he was going to do.

The man shook his fist and yelled at Edd, "_GET OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU LITTLE FAGGOT_!" Kevin immediately shoved Edd backwards particularly hard, signaling him to get away, and Edd didn't need to be told twice. He turned and bolted to the front door, praying dearly that Kevin ran, too. Terror filled his mind when he heard heavy footsteps behind him coming across the tile floor of the kitchen and he quickly tore the screen door open and rushed out into the cold night air.

The snow hindered his progress and he couldn't help but to slow down as he made his way across Kevin's yard. He felt a hand grab hold of his arm tightly and he yelped and turned to try and fight back. He flailed about for a minute before another hand grabbed his free arm and shook him, a familiar voice barked at him, "Double dweeb, it's _me_!" Relief coursed through his body as Edd opened his eyes and looked at Kevin who was also unharmed but breathing heavily. They both stood for a moment, catching their breath before Kevin let go of him and looked back at his house, reaching up to rub the back of his head. "Well…that's my dad."

Edd was still trembling as he replied, "What a horrible example of a fatherly figure!" Kevin shrugged and said, "He was drunk. Trust me, I'll go back tomorrow and he'll have forgotten the whole thing." Edd took Kevin's hand in his and said, "I believe this goes without saying, but I think it would be best if you stayed at my house tonight." Kevin nodded and let Edd lead him back to his house. When they got there, Kevin stopped Edd on the porch with a hand on his shoulder. "Edd, I need to tell you something."

Edd looked back into Kevin's eyes deeply and asked him to continue. Kevin was obviously nervous, as he shifted his weight from one foot to the next as he continued, "I can't do this secret crap anymore." A pang of fear hit Edd in the chest. Was Kevin telling him to get lost? Was Eddy right the whole time? He bit his lip and nodded slowly. "I-I understand, Kevin. It _is_ hard, especially when we're in two completely statuses at the school."

Kevin nodded in agreement and continued, "So I'm gonna come out." Shock and fear hit Edd like a wave of cold water, he even jumped slightly. "You are?! Kevin, that would be crazy! The team would-" Kevin cut him off with a rough kiss. When he pulled away, he continued, "Tomorrow is the last day of regionals, and we're facing Lemon Brook. There's not a snowball's chance in Hell we're gonna beat them. Peach Creek's never beaten them at all." Edd listened intently as Kevin continued, "So after tomorrow's game, if we do lose, I want you there. I want you to stand with me when I tell them."

Kevin felt nervous even just saying this to Edd. He could imagine what the guys were gonna say and do, even if he could easily take them down it wouldn't do anything. But Kevin was tired of this bullshit. He was tired of constantly worrying if someone was going to hurt Edd, he was tired of hiding. It just wasn't something he did. He looked into Edd's green eyes and said, "Are you okay with that?"

Edd didn't respond verbally, instead he kissed Kevin on the lips, which elicited a pleased noise from the jock's throat. They held each other that way for a few moments before Edd pulled away and leaned over to push his forehead against Kevin's. "I'm more than okay with it." Kevin could only smile at his dork. "I love you, Double dweeb." Edd nodded his head and murmured, "And I you, Kevin."


	20. Chapter 20

I tried to make the scene where Kevin and Edd face off with the team dramatic, but the more I read it, the more I just shake my head and sigh. I just can't write drama very well. T.T I hope you guys like it though, I'm having a blast!

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The rest of the night they spent in the same house, but apart from each other. Edd's parents allowed Kevin to stay, but refused to let the boys sleep in the same room. Edd insisted that Kevin take his bed and he went downstairs to sleep on the couch. Not that Kevin minded, he was rather embarrassed by his father's actions and nervous about the next day. He knew it would be better to just say what he needed to and get it over with, but that was easier said than done. The only saving grace that Kevin knew of was that basketball season was over and after Christmas break, baseball would start and none of the basketball guys were on the baseball team save for Nat and maybe Jackson.

Kevin didn't remember when he finally drifted off nor did he recall any dreams but he was woken up with a start that morning by Edd's father who stood knocking on the door and calling his name until he responded. The morning rolled around, as uneventful as ever. The boys had woken up, Kevin borrowed the shower, and they had eaten the breakfast Edd's mother had prepared for them, then walked to school together holding hands when nobody was around. However as soon as they got there, they separated to their usual groups and didn't speak a word to each other for the remainder of the school day. Even through lunch, Edd sat with Anna and the other two Eds while Kevin sat across the cafeteria with his own friends. Peach Creek took on Lemon Brook immediately after school so Kevin had to miss out on his and Edd's Literature class to go warm up.

Ed, Edd, and Eddy all came to the gym along with the rest of the student body. Mostly the Eds were there to watch the game, but Eddy was also preoccupied with the cheerleaders. Anna joined them quietly as the game was beginning, and the four sat close to the court. True to Kevin's words just last night, Peach Creek lost horribly to Lemon Brook, as badly as Macintosh had lost to them. Not for lack of trying, but because Lemon played dirty and their team was full of steroid-fueled rage. The other reason for their loss was that Kevin was so caught up in his thoughts about what was to come that he really didn't play all too well. Unfortunately for Kevin's team, their loss meant that his team wouldn't be going to State basketball, but Kevin didn't even want to anymore. He was sick of the guys on his team, save for Nat.

After Lemon Brook had wiped the floor with his team, Kevin led them back into the locker rooms for showers and to change. Any other game, Kevin would have been screaming at them the minute they stepped into the isolated room, but he didn't even think of opening his mouth this time, which left many of the players on their toes. Kevin went to the first stall he could and stared straight forward at the white tile wall as he rinsed off, not a word coming from him.

Edd waited nervously on the court floor after the teams had left and everyone was piling out of the gym. He shifted awkwardly and wrung his hands together in front of him. The team would surely commit mutiny. Edd closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to fight the image in his head of the pair of them, badly beaten up, sharing the inside of a locker together. A hand on his shoulder made him jump and wheel around. Anna and the other two Eds stood behind him and the purple haired girl spoke, "What are you doing, Edd?"

The sockhead merely shook his head in response and told them to go on without him if they wanted to leave. None of them moved, even as Kevin came out to the court and crossed over to them. Eddy scowled at him angrily, still not convinced that he had to like Kevin any better. Kevin glared back and opened his mouth to make a snide comment, but the look on Edd's face made him close his mouth and turn away from the shortest dork.

When then rest of the team came out of the locker rooms, Anna stepped up to Kevin's side, who turned to face the guys coming their way with his arm around Edd's shoulders. Nat was the first to reach them, giving Kevin and Edd a nod before he came to a stand beside Anna and turned to face the team with them. Edd glanced back behind him and felt great warmth inside of him to see that Eddy and Ed were standing close by his side, also ready to defend the couple from the team.

The oddball group of six stood before the rest of the athletes and for the longest time, nobody said anything. The team all stared in bewilderment at their ginger leader. The silence rang out in the gym and the loudest in Edd's ears. The seconds ticked by like millenniums and every one of them was filled with the quietness. '_This is the calm before the storm_' Edd told himself as he looked up to Kevin, who remained as placid as ever as he eyed every member of the basketball team.

For once, neither Todd nor Jackson was the first to break the cold silence. One of the others on the team licked his lips and began, "So…the rumors are true then?" Nobody responded right away, Kevin eyed the guy with his steely cold gaze and slowly, he nodded his head once and said, "Yeah. The rumors are true." Some whispers broke out among the dozen guys in front of them, some snickers and a lot of hard stares came from them.

Kevin swallowed the lump in his throat and went for his signature aggressiveness. "And if any of you bitches have a problem with that, you better say something now! 'Cuz if I find out you chicken shits are sayin' one thing to my face, but sayin' something else to everybody behind my back, I'll rip your tongue out."

Edd squeezed Kevin's arm sharply at his language, but said nothing out loud regardless. Then Eddy cleared his throat and said, "I'm pretty sure I don't hafta say this, but I'm gonna anyways. You mess with Sockhead, _or_ Shovelchin, you're messin' with _ME_ and you're messin' with Monobrow here. And if you think you can mess with _us_, I'll have him demonstrate the most painful way to tear someone's arms off." Big Ed made a defiant noise beside Eddy and crossed his arms, scowling at the players.

The team still didn't say anything outright to them, although the whispers never stopped. Todd finally gave up holding his tongue and barked, "You think the school's gonna just be okay with the captain being gay? They'll eat you alive, Kev." The ginger athlete snorted in derision and snapped back at him, "Well that's _my_ problem now, ain't it Todd?"

Edd felt Kevin give his shoulders a gentle squeeze and he turned to look at the sockhead and said, "Let's go." When the two boys turned to leave, so did their friends without so much as a 'bye' to the athletes who remain on the court talking amongst themselves. When the gym doors closed behind them, the two Eds and Anna erupted in giggles, which Nat soon joined. Kevin rounded on them and demanded of them, mostly at the Eds, "What are you shitheads laughing at?"

Eddy cleared his voice and asked them, "Didja see their faces?" Nat nodded in agreement and did his best fish-face impression with bulging eyes, which resulted in more laughter. Edd couldn't help but to chuckle to himself and Kevin rolled his eyes. "You guys aren't that bright are you? You shouldn't have opened your mouths. This was me and the dweeb's problem, not yours. You're gonna catch hell from everyone now." Eddy wiped his eye and said, "Hey Bazooka-chin. You're not a one man show, ya know? You can't deal with those clowns by yourself." He slapped Kevin heartily on the back, earning him a vicious glare. "Besides, you're dating my best friend. If you want one Ed, you get all three of us so you better learn to live with it."

Edd glanced over at Anna who grinned widely at them as Nat clapped an arm around her and gave Kevin the thumbs up. "You're not gonna do this alone." Edd's heart fluttered with joy at how wonderful his friends could truly be. He gave them his gap-toothed grin and broke away from Kevin to wrap his arms around Ed and Eddy. Kevin didn't say anything in that moment, he only stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face. When Edd pulled away from his friends, he stepped back and took Kevin's hand once more and rejoiced, "You have no idea how much this means to me!"

With the exception of Nat, who didn't live near the cul-de-sac, the group made their way back to the neighborhood together. Even after Anna had left them and made it to her house, much to Kevin's dismay, Eddy and Ed continued to tail them closely. He just wanted to walk with Edd alone, to hold his hand and maybe pull him into the lane and snog him senseless. It was really hard to do any of that with Eddy breathing down his neck. The shrimpy dork was doing it on purpose, too. Kevin could see that smug look on his face even without having to look at him, but if he tried to say something or go to bust Eddy's lip, Edd would stop him every time.

When they made it to the neighborhood, Kevin dragged Edd into his garage so they could get the motorcycle out and start working. Thinking that they were alone, Kevin put a hand on Edd's shoulder, who turned his attention from the bike and gave the athlete a warm smile. He went to pull Edd into a gentle lip-lock, but a sharp voice rang from the garage door. "Can't you keep it in your pants just a _little while_, Shovelchin?"

The ginger growled and looked over to see that the other, less desirable Eds were in the garage with them, both eyeing the boxes of jawbreakers pushed over to the side. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, wanting nothing more than to just lay into that smart-assed assault on his ears. "What the hell are you doin' in my garage, twerp?" The smirk on Eddy's face grew and said, "I told ya! You get Sockhead, you get the package deal Kev."

Kevin bit down on his lower lip rather hard to keep a snarl of disgust squelched. A small hand found itself placed on the square of his shoulder blade and his cold sapphire eyes looked over at his partner, who still had a gentle smile on his face. "You know, Kevin. Ed and Eddy could prove to be useful to us. Eddy's older brother taught him a lot about automobiles and Ed's vast strength can come in handy where you least expect it. I think we should allow them to help us restore your father's motorcycle."

Kevin's initial reaction was to passionately reject Edd's idea and threaten the other two Eds' lives unless they left, but with a little bit of persuasion from Edd, mostly the promise of a night alone with him, Kevin sighed and put a hand on his hip. "So, you're telling me that Ed-head and Funnel Face can fix my bike and make it run like a fuckin' _dream_?" Eddy disinterestedly looked at the red bike and muttered, "Yeah, sure whatever. The boys and I'll fix your little dandy, _but it'll cost ya_."

There it was. Kevin outright laughed and barked at him, "I'm fixing this thing too, dude. No way am I paying you numbskulls to give me a hand." Eddy's devious smile never left his face as he grabbed Edd and Ed around the shoulders and said, "Well have fun fixing it then." He started to drag the two out of Kevin's garage, and exactly as he planned it, Kevin immediately grabbed Edd from under his arm and said, "Alright alright. What'd ya want?"

Eddy spun around and his eye landed on the boxes of sugary treats. "You share a box of those good-looking jawbreakers with me and the boys here, and we'll make sure that bike of yours is road-ready by Christmas." Kevin snorted in disbelief, but Edd freed himself from his grasp and said, "How about it Kevin? You don't need to repay _me_ any sort of compensation, you already do so much for me. Just Eddy and Ed."

With the three Eds standing in front of him grinning like idiots, Kevin finally gave in and shook his head, scowling at Eddy. "One jawbreaker for you and Monobrow a day, and you're gone before six o' clock every night. That's the deal." Eddy gave him a thumbs up and clapped his hands together. "What are we waiting for? Let's get started!"

Being that it was already a quarter after five, the boys didn't get much accomplished. By the time six rolled around, all they had managed to do was pull it out of the dirty corner it had been standing in, found that the gas tank leaked courtesy of the large trail of gasoline that ran across the floor, and take apart the covering of the engine. When the Kevin's phone showed 5:59, he shooed the other two Eds and slammed the door shut behind them. "Man, your friends are _so damn annoying_!"

Edd was wiping his hands off on a rag and turned to look at Kevin with a slight rawness. "It isn't so much that they are annoying as you are impatient, Kevin." Kevin smirked and sauntered up to his pale dork and slid his arms around the other's waist. "I'm impatient all right, but impatient for something else." Edd couldn't even manage an 'Oh' before Kevin's lips were upon his. Their lips and tongues intertwined in a heated dance. In a stroke of boldness, Edd found his hands running up and down Kevin's chest and shoulders. Kevin gently bit down on Edd's tongue and sucked lightly, earning a shiver from the latter. He slowly broke the kiss and nudged his lover's forehead with his own. "C'mon dweeb, let's go shower."

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The next two weeks had passed quicker than the last few days had. So far nobody had made any negative comments or given Kevin or Edd any looks of disgust, in fact everything seem almost normal. The secret was out for sure, but to Kevin and Edd's surprise the news passed through the student body as quickly as any other rumors did. The first few days, people would point at the boys even if they were separated and some would whisper, occasionally someone would laugh at them, but sure enough by that Friday, the cheerleaders and various other girls were lined back up at Kevin's feet and the other jocks were surrounding him, as they always had. Some of the members of the basketball team, however still continued to give Kevin a wide berth. Whether it was due to fear, respect or repulsion, Kevin didn't know nor did he give a shit.

Edd didn't face too much bullying from the basketball team anymore either. Of course members of the wrestling team or the track team, groups that Kevin wasn't in, would still push him around, demand that he do their homework or clean their lockers for them. Usually when that happened though, Kevin and his friends would normally be in the hall too, and Kevin would quickly and violently put a stop to it. For the most part though, when Edd walked the halls without Ed or Eddy, people didn't treat him all that badly, to his utter pleasure.

Of course nothing really changed, Kevin and Edd still had different classes all day and the only times they spent together at school was lunch and occasionally Kevin would leave class to go visit Edd during his nurse's aide hour. In the end, the class-skipping only worked for so long, Nat eventually caught on to Kevin's disappearances and would often interrupt them in hopes of seeing some real action.

The bike project was also going well, though by the end of every evening, it would take massive restraint from Kevin and Edd's voice telling him to stay calm to keep him from murdering the other two Eds. True to Eddy's word, by finals week the bike was almost complete. However because it _was_ finals week, Edd had almost completely abandoned his friends and Kevin to study, and suggested that they do the same. Of course none of them listened, but Kevin really didn't get to be with Edd either. By now Edd's parents had left again, with the promise that they would be back on Christmas Eve, so the dweeb usually locked his house and turned his phone off after school every day to study, and had been bringing his own lunch to school and staying in the library during lunch break.

Today was Wednesday, and Peach Creek let school out early on Thursday for break. By this time Kevin was absolutely going insane from the lack of a sock-headed dork in his life. Most of the finals were happening today, all of Kevin's finals in fact, and even though Kevin really didn't study for them, he thought he didn't do too badly. He ended up with a C- in his Algebra class, but that would keep him on the baseball team next semester and quite honestly, he wasn't gonna try for better.

As he stood in front of his locker waiting for Nazz and the usual people to come, he spotted the three Eds coming down the hall. His eyes immediately landed on Edd and he watched the boy very carefully. Though he saw the sockhead every day in the halls, it felt like the first time in years he'd seen him. As the Eds stopped at their lockers, Kevin could appreciate the faint purple bags that were forming underneath Edd's eyes and a seed of concern planted itself in his brain.

He continued to watch as Edd stood and talked with his friends, only vaguely chuckling or nodding his head. Nazz approached Kevin while he was staring and gently shook his arm. "Earth to Kev!" Kevin looked over at her and gave her a smile. She glanced over at Edd and asked him, "Everything okay?" When Kevin nodded, she began to talk about her Cooking class again and how she didn't know if she passed, but Kevin didn't pay any sort of attention. Instead, as Nazz was talking he marched straight across the hall, earning a surprised, 'Hey!' from the blonde cheerleader who huffed and walked away.

Edd never saw Kevin coming until an annoyed cry from Eddy rang in his ears. "The hell, Bazooka-chin?!" Kevin grabbed Edd from his two friends and pulled him along as he marched down the hall away from them. Edd struggled against the hand around his arm and tried to protest that he would be late for his Chemistry class. Kevin ignored every word he said and easily overpowered every attempt Edd made to push him away, dragging him into the library. Though Edd tried, Kevin could tell he was tired, as he barely felt any resistance on Edd's part.

Once there Kevin plopped Edd down in one of the numerous chairs in the library and pulled one up beside him. They were alone for the most part, except for the librarian who was on the other side of the room. Kevin continued to hold Edd's hand both out of affection and in case Edd tried to get up and leave. "Kevin! What is the meaning of this? I must insist you release me this moment, or else I will be tardy!" Kevin shook his head and said, "I wanted to see you, and tell you that you can't study anymore tonight. I won't allow it."

Edd's green eyes widened in shock and he nervously asked, "What do mean by that?" Kevin squeezed his hand briefly and responded, "You've been studying this entire week, I couldn't even see you this weekend 'cuz you locked the damned door at your house! You're a freakin' genius, Double dork, you don't need to study anymore." Edd immediately exclaimed, "Of course I locked the door! I'm alone in that house, and I have had many tests to prepare for. I still have my Chemistry test tomorrow and I can't afford to-" Kevin cut him off by putting his hand over his mouth. "You're not studying tonight, 'cuz I'm taking you out to dinner. You _will_ let me into your house at seven tonight."

With such aggression in his voice, Edd knew better than to disrespect Kevin's wishes. He nodded his head slowly and reached into his book bag, digging for a moment before he pulled out a small keychain with one golden key on it. "That's my spare house key. Please do not lose it." Kevin smirked and put it in his pocket before he finally released Edd and they stood up. As the jock turned, he gestured over to the librarians desk at the front and he said, "Chemistry teacher's over there, if you wanna get to class before he does, I suggest you run." He watched amused as Edd quickly bolted out the door before the teacher had even finished talking to the librarian. He would have to remember to tell Ed-head and Lumpy to clear off tonight so he could have Double dork all to himself.

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**HOLD IT. I just had an epiphany over the next few chapters.**

**THIS STORY'S NOT OVER YET. TO BE CONTINUED. :D**


	21. Chapter 21

Seven o' clock came and Kevin found himself walking across the darkened, icy cul-de-sac towards Edd's house, his heart pounding with nervousness. This wasn't Kevin's first date, but it was his first date with Edd, and that scared him more than it ever had with Nazz or any other girl he'd been with. The last thing he wanted was for anything to go wrong. He had dressed in slacks, a nice green button-down shirt and a black jacket. He kept his sneakers on though, which nearly slid out from under him as he stepped onto the curb. He also chose to leave his signature red hat at home this time, so his short fiery red hair was very prominent. He hoped he wasn't too overdressed, or else he'd make the dork wait while he went home and changed. He shuffled up the sidewalk to Edd's door and he took a deep breath before he knocked. Edd's muffled voice came from the other side of the thick oak door, "Use your key!" Kevin smirked at the slight attitude in Edd's voice and did just that, sliding the golden key into the lock and making his way into the house.

Immediately the soft white glow of light that brightened the place hit him as he stepped into the house. Before he could come any further inside than the doormat, Edd's voice cried out from his bedroom, "Don't move from that mat! I'll be down soon!" A door upstairs closed, and footsteps could be heard coming down the hall. Kevin's blue eyes widened considerably as Edd came into view. He was dressed in a long-sleeved red dress shirt, which was covered by a black pin-striped vest and he wore black slacks like his own and dress shoes. His ski cap was gone and his hair had been parted neatly so that the large scar on his head was covered by his long black hair.

As Edd approached him with a grin, Kevin immediately grasped his shoulders and muttered, "God, you look sexy." He claimed the boy's lips momentarily but before it could get deep Edd pulled away from him and said, "Save your passions for later, Kevin. We have the rest of the evening after dinner, you know." Kevin grinned, and leaned in to whisper against his dork's temple, "_Yeah…and after dinner, I'm gonna rip that pretty little outfit off with my teeth._"

Edd shuddered, and grabbed his jacket from the hat stand by the door before Kevin turned on his heel, and pulled him out into the chilly, silver night. Kevin had managed to talk his mother into letting him borrow the Jaguar on the condition that if he scratched it, it would come out of his college funds. The black beauty sat warming up in Kevin's driveway across the neighborhood. As quickly as they could without slipping on the icy road, the two boys rushed over to the car, but as Edd tried to make his way to the passenger side, a hand roughly grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him away, nearly making him slip on the ice.

"Kevin! What on earth?" The ginger smirked. "Uh-uh, Double dweeb. We're on a date, remember? It's my job to take care of you." He ignored the protesting and pushed past him to the passenger door, opening it like a chauffeur. Edd huffed and straightened his vest before climbing into the car. Kevin joined him momentarily and Edd looked around the cab. "My lord, I don't think I've ever seen anything so _sleek_! This must have cost your family a fortune!" The ginger athlete snorted as he put it in reverse. "Yeah it did, so don't touch _anything_ except the radio, dork." Edd obeyed and quietly kept his hands folded in his lap.

As the car hummed down the street, Kevin remained silent with a focused look as he concentrated on the road. Edd didn't mind too much, he was still fascinated by the all the engineering, all the mechanics and thermodynamics that went into such an astounding machine. As they rolled down the main street of Peach Creek, Edd turned his attentions to outside, wondering where they would be going. Kevin apparently had the same thoughts as him, as he inquired, "So where do you wanna eat?"

Edd turned back around to look at Kevin and replied, "You didn't think of somewhere beforehand?" Kevin shook his head and answered, "I don't know what you eat, dork." Edd bit his lip and looked around the town once more at their options. "Well…somewhere with a healthy salad or vegetable soup would be nice…"

Kevin's burst of laughter made him jump in his seat. Between laughs, he managed to say, "Oh God, dork! Don't tell me you eat like those prissy little cheerleaders! All rabbit food and no meat in there. No wonder your ass is so skinny!" Edd felt the heat creep up to his face as he retorted, "Well I can't be blamed for wanting to take care of my weight! Not to mention, vegetables are delicious." Kevin continued to chuckle, reaching over carefully with a hand and ruffling Edd's black locks slightly. "Buncha crap. S'all that is. We gotta put some protein in your system." Edd fought off Kevin's hand and set about fixing his hair again. "Fine, then where do _you_ suggest we go?"

Once again, Kevin had a way of making Edd feel that there was nothing in his life he regretted more. Soon they were parked in front of a large, well-lit restaurant. Not just a restaurant, but an all-you-can-eat steak and seafood buffet. Edd stepped out of the car and peered up at the LED lights that lit up the parking lot. "Kevin, I don't think this is such a good idea… I've never eaten at a place like this." Kevin laughed as he came around the car and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "That's cuz you're nothing but a damned hipster. C'mon, I'll show you what's good."

They were soon seated in one of the booths inside. Well, Kevin was seated. Edd was inspecting his side of the booth for greasiness and germs, all the while muttering '_Filthy, filthy, filthy_…' After their guide had walked away, Kevin watched Edd fuss for a minute before he rolled his eyes and said, "Dork, if you don't just _sit down_, I swear I will put you over this table and have my way with you right here in front of the whole store." Though it seemed something Kevin would do, Edd knew he wasn't serious, or at least he _hoped_ he wasn't serious. He immediately sat down and didn't say another word.

They fidgeted with their menus for a moment before finally Kevin looked up to see if their waiter was coming. Edd peered up at him over his menu and asked him, "Is the waiter coming yet?" Kevin scanned the room and watched all the waiters, "Uh…yeah, I think, no wait…Oh shit…" Kevin dropped his menu and slid down in his seat. Edd placed his menu down as well and called his name worriedly. Kevin nodded at him and muttered, "Yup. Our waiter's here." Edd looked away from Kevin as he felt a presence at his side, and looked up to a devious smile, and teal hair.

"Nat? You work here?" The cheeky smile on his face never left. "Yup! Just started last week." Kevin growled and sat up. "C'mon Double dweeb, we'll find another place to eat." As the ginger moved to stand up out of the both, Nat playfully shoved him back down into his seat. "Sorry captain, but I can't let you do that. You still owe me for kicking that dude's ass." Edd smiled up at Nat sheepishly as he turned his attention over to him. "I don't think I've ever seen you without that sock on your head." Edd flushed as Nat looked him over a bit. "Damn…you're a good looker." Kevin hissed at him, "Watch it, Goldberg."

Edd tried hard not to say too much to Nat, remembering that Anna had feelings for him. Kevin finally demanded that Nat go get their drinks and leave them alone for a moment. Kevin rested his forehead in his hands and made a frustrated noise. Edd looked over at him and couldn't help but to rib, "Elbows off the table, Kevin. It's not polite, you know." Kevin's gaze snapped up to him and at first he was going to bark at him, but the twinkle in Edd's emerald eyes made him shake his head and smile, too. When Nat came back, he plopped their glasses down and leaned over the table. "So, what are my two love birds eating? The _sausage_ dinner?"

Kevin gave him a sharp kick in the leg and Edd turned away, his entire face becoming inflamed. Nat laughed through the pain radiating up and down his shin and said, "I'm just screwin' with you. Don't get all sore at me." Kevin snarled at him, "If you don't take a hint douchebag, I'll have a chat with the manger." Nat's smirk never left as he conceded. "Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a wad."

Kevin and Nat haggled over which order to get for a bit and every time Edd would try to give a suggestion, he was hushed. Even when he requested a salad for himself, Kevin wouldn't let him, claiming that he wasn't "gonna eat rabbit food", and that Kevin was gonna pay for "_real_ food". Much to Edd's distaste, Nat ended up suggesting the barbeque platter and Kevin willingly accepted. So now Edd found himself staring at a plate of oily, runny meat that had all the nutrition cooked out and covered in sauce. He didn't complain one bit, instead he took the food, grateful he didn't have to cook for himself again.

The eating portion of the date was sort of quiet for the couple. The TV in the room was running baseball programs, so Kevin was tuned into that while Edd ate in silence. For the most part Edd was content looking out the window or at the other people in the restaurant, but once or twice he would peek over at Kevin. Though he ate like a ravenous wolf, Kevin was rather clean. There wasn't a smudge of grease or sauce on him. It made Edd smile to himself, which caught Kevin's attention. Upon questioning, Edd shook his head and stated that he was thinking of science joke.

Edd came to realize how differently he and Kevin sided on eating out. Edd would have been just fine with a café or maybe a bistro. Kevin was a carnivore, and he was down for any sports bar or steakhouse there was. Edd was polite about eating, wiping his silverware off on the plate or napkin and constantly making sure he didn't have anything on his face. Kevin would rather lick the silverware and didn't give a care if something got on him, he could wash off. Edd hated to leave leftovers at a restaurant, while Kevin considered it to be the kitchen's problem, not his. So when Edd asked Nat for a box, Kevin was confused as to what he was going to do with it.

The one thing they shared in common about going out was that neither of them would eat dessert. Edd didn't want the extra weight in his stomach, and Kevin's reason was that he "had dessert right in front of him". When Nat came back with Edd's styrofoam box, he handed it to Edd and plopped down in the booth beside Kevin. The ginger looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be taking care of other tables?" Nat laughed and said, "Nah, got off an hour ago. I just wanted to see how your little date was going."

Kevin was obviously annoyed but Edd saved Nat from his wrath by piping up, "I thought it was absolutely wonderful for my first date." Both athletes turned to him and Nat asked, "Your _first_ date? You mean…?" Edd swore that his blush was a permanent part of his face now. "Y-Yes. This was my first date." Nat 'aww'ed and nudged Kevin in the shoulder, who turned as bright red as his hair. Edd cleared his throat awkwardly before asking Nat if he had the bill. Nat pulled it out of his apron and slapped it against Kevin's chest and demanded in a serious tone, "Don't you dare make Einstein pay for this date, or I'll hunt you down." He reached into another pocket of his apron and pulled out two mints, tossing them at the boy murmuring, "I bet you'll need them." When Nat stepped away to get a warm rag to wipe the table, Kevin opened up the bill, threw just barely enough for the amount in it and he got up and started to leave, Edd tailing him. Nat's voice rang out behind them as they walked away, "What? No tip?"

Back in the car, Edd buckled himself in as Kevin messed around his jacket, looking for the keys. "So…this really was your first date?" Edd nodded meekly and said, "Yes, I'd been waiting for the right person to come…" Kevin was intrigued. "Anything else we've done for your first time?" Edd's body rocked with the car as it started to move backwards out of the parking space as he thought back for a moment. "Well, you were my first boyfriend…and my first kiss, and…you know…" He could see Kevin's eyes sparkle at that. Edd couldn't think of anymore at the moment, and Kevin was content enough anyways.

The few minutes' drive was quiet, but fast. Kevin now only had one other thing on his mind. As soon as they had pulled into his garage he returned the keys, making Edd stay out in the garage away from his parents, then the boys walked over to Edd's empty house. As soon as they got to the door, Edd paused in front of Kevin to fiddle with his keychain. Kevin's hands were immediately on Edd's body, exploring everywhere without hesitation. Edd finally got the door unlocked and as soon as they were in, Kevin kicked the door shut behind them and they took off their shoes. He pushed Edd into the living room, which was lit by the large window allowing the moonlight in, where he grabbed the thin boy and picked him up, bending over and depositing him on his back on the floor. Edd struggled for a moment exclaiming, "Kevin! Good lord this floor is dirty!"

Kevin's lips were upon his face in an instant, kissing feverishly. He whispered to his love, pausing between each of his words to plant a wet kiss in random spots on his face, "Tell me…again…Double D… What…was I…your first at?" Edd kissed back as much as he could and imitated Kevin. "You were…my first kiss…my first date…and my…first boyfriend." Kevin 'mmm'ed in pleasure as he finally claimed Edd's lips in a sloppy, passionate kiss. When they pulled away he rested his forehead against Edd's and murmured, "What else?" The black-haired teen shuddered underneath him and whispered, "M-My first time in the bedroom."

Kevin growled in approval and started to lower himself down onto Edd's neck. "Damn right, and I better be your _only_ one in there, too." Edd whimpered as Kevin latched onto a bit of flesh, sucking at it. Edd tugged at the back of Kevin's shirt, trying to signal he wanted it off. Kevin smirked and pushed his hands away, pinning them above his head. "You first, babe."

Edd grunted, lightly squirming beneath the strong figure above him and murmured, "We should move to the bedroom." Kevin's eyes flashed in the dark as he nipped at Edd's neck again. "Why's that?" Edd pushed at Kevin's shoulders and whined, "We're not in privacy here! Someone could look in the window and see!" Kevin raised his head and brought his face up until it was mere centimeters from Edd's, sapphire eyes glinting in the dark down into emerald eyes. His hot breath drifted down across Edd's cheeks as he murmured, "Then let them watch."

Their mouths met again in a wild clash of teeth and tongue. Kevin steadied himself on his one free hand, keeping Edd's pinned above him. When their lips parted, Kevin moved down to take the edge of Edd's vest in his teeth and jerked his head back, the satisfying sound of buttons unsnapping reverberated in his ears. He had to undo the last stubborn button by hand, but it didn't hinder him in the slightest. He released Edd's arms to slide the vest off. Next he worked on releasing Edd from the red shirt, removing the garment, spreading it beneath him. Their lips met again and did not part as Kevin's hands ran up and down Edd's torso, stopping every chance he could to tweak and play with the rosy nipples on his boyfriend's pale chest, earning him a cry from Edd, muffled by his own mouth.

Edd reached up and started to undo Kevin's shirt, mouths still connected. Kevin relaxed over him and allowed him to do as he pleased. When the shirt was unbuttoned, Kevin ripped it off his body and carelessly tossed it aside. Edd's slacks and undergarments followed immediately after, and as Kevin was reaching down to undo his own pants, Edd grabbed his wrists and halted his movements. When Kevin looked up, Edd licked his lips and whispered, "Let me do it. I want to be touching you the minute they come off."

Kevin felt a shock of electricity run down his spine at Edd's words and he relaxed and let Edd pull the rest of his clothes off. They rolled over and switched positions, with Edd hovering over Kevin. He kissed down Kevin's chest, pausing to play with his nipples, making Kevin groan beneath him. Edd continued down Kevin's solid body as he did before, kissing each rock hard muscle he came across. He slid down further to his love's manhood, and he first took him in his hand, making Kevin grunt and breathe deeply. Edd stroked him softly, then picked up the pace, pumping his hand harder, waiting to see how he would react. Kevin arched off the floor and hissed his name. Edd continued to pump harder and faster, he kept it up until his arm was sore, and at last he leaned down took him in his mouth. Kevin ran his hands down over his shoulders and moaned deeply as he bobbed his head up and down. Having waited all week for this, Kevin's stamina wasn't as great as he would've liked it to be and he quickly neared his edge in Edd's mouth. Edd lowered his head down all the way, taking Kevin in deeply, and before Kevin could stop him, he hit the base of Kevin's member just right with his teeth. With a loud cry the ginger athlete came, spilling hot seed down his throat. Edd gagged for a moment but managed to swallow.

Kevin lay on the floor panting, both intensely relieved and furious at himself. There was no way he could get hard enough again and take Edd right then. Edd crawled up to him and asked him, "Kevin? Is everything okay?" Kevin's eyes opened and rested on his face. "You shouldn't have done that, Edd. You should have let me finish inside of you." Edd smiled gently and kissed the jock on the nose. "It's alright Kevin, I can wait."

As quick as his tired body could, Kevin forced himself up and said, "No way, I'm not leaving you like that." He stole a kiss from Edd and whispered, "Take me." Edd's eyes landed on Kevin's and they looked at each other for a while before Edd nodded, unable to ignore his own body. "I will do it, as long as you don't force me to hurt you again." Kevin nodded, "I promise. I want you to just do it, though. Don't go get a condom or lube or any of that useless shit, just take me." Edd nodded his agreement and started to move, but Kevin put a hand in the middle of his chest and forced him to lie down on his back.

Kevin smirked deviously down at the boy as he mounted him. "Who said you get to be on top?" Edd whimpered again as Kevin positioned himself over Edd's hardness. They locked eyes again and never broke contact as Kevin slid down carefully onto Edd, who squirmed on the floor and cried out. Kevin didn't go all the way down just yet, adjusting to Edd's cock inside of him with his face contorted in both discomfort and semi-pleasure. The smart Ed let Kevin stay still for a while before he experimentally thrust up into him, earning him a grunt from his ginger lover.

Kevin normally dominated everyone he came across. He would rather take Edd than be taken by Edd. The mere act of Edd sliding into him made his toes curl. He assured himself he wasn't losing his alpha status, he was only letting Edd take control for a little bit. He felt his love pick up his pace, and he threw his head back and just let everything crash into him, the pain and the pleasure alike.

Edd gripped one of Kevin's legs, which were bent on either side of his thin frame, and with the other hand, reached out to take hold of Kevin's manhood and started to pump in sync with his hips as he continued to speed up his motions, moaning quietly. Kevin grunted and moved in time with Edd's hips, impaling himself on Edd. "K-Kevin…" The athlete looked down at the pale Ed on the floor who was grasping his cock in one hand and thrusting into him and acknowledged him. "What is it, baby?" Edd's face was still so naïve, even in the middle of sex. It was beyond adorable. His voice was even more innocent as he gently asked him, "Who do y-you love?"

It almost seemed weird to Kevin. Usually that question was demanded of and shouted at someone during sex, but yet Edd requested it so calmly, and so quietly. Kevin smiled through the sensations he was receiving and he replied, "You." He thrust down sharply on Edd, eliciting a cry from him and declared loudly, "I love _you_, Eddward!" That was enough to send the smart Ed over the edge, who arched his back, pushing his head into the ground and crying out loudly as he thrust once, twice, three more times before he released into Kevin.

Even as he came down from his climax, Edd continued to pump his hand over Kevin's erection until Kevin finally came again, albeit weaker than the first time. Kevin pulled himself off of Edd and fell to his side, reaching up and cupping his face gently. Edd turned and looked into Kevin's eyes warmly and asked him, "C-Can we go to bed now?" Kevin could only laugh and nod his head. "Yes, baby. We can go to bed now."

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Yay! They finally went on a date! And it only took 20 chapters. :P


	22. Chapter 22

I still don't own Ed Edd n Eddy, or Nat. I still don't own Sam V either. *bitter crying

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Christmas Break had flown by the cul-de-sac like a jet plane. Nothing too intimate happened, Edd had knitted a scarf for Kevin as a gift and Kevin had gotten Edd a kit for raising butterflies from caterpillars. Kevin's red motorcycle was finally completed, though Eddy never quit trying to find a reason to keep working on it for jawbreakers. Other than Christmas and the occasional sneaking off together, the days had been just as they always had for Kevin and Edd. Soon baseball season and graduation was upon the older children of the cul-de-sac. Many parties were planned, mostly by over-zealous parents and the popular kids of the school who were looking for a reason to drink. The same was no different for Kevin and Nazz's friends, who had informed them that they would throw two parties, one pre-graduation at Kevin's house, and one after-grad party at Nazz's place. Not that either of the well-loved teens complained, even though they knew it was for the alcohol. To Edd's great dismay, his parents had written to him, saying that they would not be back for graduation and asked him if he could be with Eddy or Kevin.

Kevin was again made captain of the baseball team. Edd often wondered and confided in Ed and Eddy, if the coaches knew of Kevin's sexual orientation and maybe that was the reason they placed Kevin in such an important role. His friends weren't much comfort to him, Eddy couldn't care less and Ed would only grin blankly. Speaking of the baseball team, they had done extremely well that season, only having lost two games at all. Kevin would always tell Edd that he was his inspiration, while Edd simply responded that Kevin was naturally skilled at what he did.

It was a chilly Friday in May and the day before Kevin and Nazz's pre-graduation party. Kevin was walking down the hall just before the bell rang to let classes out of first period. He was waiting for Edd to come out to the hall so he could ask Edd to his party. He hadn't asked beforehand because he knew Edd would refuse, due to the inevitable alcohol and wild athletes running rampant. Of course he had asked Edd what his plans were, Edd hadn't come up with any ideas when he had asked.

The bell rang just then and the rumbling of feet leaving classrooms grew louder by the second. Kevin continued to pace the hall as kids started to flood around him. Finally he spotted that familiar black ski hat among the crowd and started to make his way over. When he made it to Edd, he went out of his way to shove Eddy away from Edd's side, ("_HEY, WATCH IT SHOVELCHIN_!) and wrapped an arm around the smart Ed. His boyfriend's sparkling blue eyes looked over to his and he smiled gently, "Greetings, Kevin!"

The ginger athlete nodded his acknowledgement and said, "Hey you. Listen, tomorrow night Nazz and I are having a graduation party for our friends. I want you to come, okay?" Just as he predicted, Edd's face fell into a nervous stare and he fidgeted under the strong arm around him and said, "A-All your friends will be there?" Kevin nodded, knowing what was about to happen.

Edd faced forward again and thought about it for a moment before he shook his head and replied, "T-That's flattering Kevin, but remember? Your friends don't approve of me. Besides, those kinds of parties usually have alcohol involved and-" Kevin cut him off by reaching up and jerking his hat down over his face and said, "You don't have to stay long. I just want you to show up, okay?" Edd was too busy trying to pull the fabric off of his face to respond, and Kevin took that opportunity to lean in and whisper to the side of his face, "_Besides, I might leave with you_."

Edd muttered an "O-Okay.", and Kevin released him and gave Eddy another hard shove in the side, ("_The HELL, you buttwipe_?!) before he went in the other direction down the hall. Upon arriving at his class, Nazz and Nat greeted him from their seats in the back. When he sat down with them Nazz asked, "Did you finally ask him?"

The ginger nodded his head in response and leaned back in his seat to get comfortable. "Yeah, just like I told you. He doesn't wanna show." Nat joined in on the conversation. "You did tell him he had no choice, didn't you?" Kevin looked at his two best friends and responded, "What do you take me for? Of course I told him he had to come." Nat grinned his cheeky grin and asked, "So he _is_ coming?" Kevin nodded and ignored his friends' comments as the class began.

Edd, on the other hand, sat in his Biology class thinking through what could possibly happen at the party. Obviously it could go well, nobody would bother him. However there was also the chance that he would show up and those miscreants would make a fool out of him in front of Kevin and his other friends. He didn't want to disappoint Kevin though, so he had to appear for at least a little bit. Just show up, say hi to Kevin and Nazz and whatever other friends there were, then leave. That sounded good to Edd.

Eddy plopped down in his seat by Edd and asked him, "So you gonna go to Bazooka-chin's party instead of mine?" Edd snapped out of his daydreaming and looked over at Eddy. "It depends on the timing of the parties, Eddy. However I don't plan to stay at Kevin's party. Only long enough to let Kevin know I was there, then leave. Then I shall be at your party." Eddy nodded, and for once didn't make a sarcastic comment about Kevin. Ed grinned his horse-tooth grin at his friends as he sat down and said, "Eddy throws the best parties!" Eddy chuckled and said, "Damn right I do."

Three o' clock came fast that afternoon and after a walk home with Anna, Edd found that she would be at the party too, courtesy of an invitation by Nat. Eddy and Ed had accompanied him to his house and the three made it up to Edd's room and now Eddy lounged on the bed and Ed rolled around on the floor giggling as Edd stood in front of his dresser, searching for something to wear to the party tomorrow evening.

"Ya know, you put way too much effort into these things. It's gonna give you gray hair by the time you're 20." Edd huffed at Eddy's remark and said, "I put just the right amount of effort into these things, Eddy. I want Kevin to know that I care about his success. He certainly wouldn't think I cared if I showed up at his gathering in old clothes I wear every day!" Eddy yawned and replied, "Who cares what Shovelchin thinks anyways?"

After digging through a few more drawers and some more exchanges of words with Eddy, Edd finally found a clean shirt and a nice pair of jeans to wear. When he was finally prepared for the party, the boys headed back downstairs and spent the evening in front of the TV. Though Edd was still nervous about the people, he was proud when he thought of the reason they were partying. They were actually graduating in a week! So many doors would be opened up, so many opportunities! Every time he thought about it, he couldn't help the smile on his face.

One minute it was completely dark outside and in, the only light on his and his friends' faces came from the TV, and then the next minute, golden light was pouring into the window of the living room, and Edd found himself sprawled out on the couch. He yawned and slowly sat up from his uncomfortable position and stretched to get the kinks out of his muscles. The memories of the night before came back. He and his friends had engaged in an 8-hour monster movie marathon. When he looked around, he was repulsed by the amount of garbage and half-eaten food lying on the floor, and his two friends sprawled where they may, drooling and snoring away.

As he got up to start cleaning up the mess, his phone went off in his pocket. It was Kevin.

**[U busy dork?]**

**[I have a few chores to do, then I will be available. Do you require attention?]**

**[K. Meet me outside when ur done. Dont bring those 2 turkeys]**

So Edd did as he was told, he finished cleaning up, he left his two best friends sleeping on the floor and headed outside. He found Kevin standing in the circle drive and he walked out to him, mindful to stay on the path as he forgot to put his shoes on. When he got to Kevin, the jock smirked at him and said, "I just wanted to make sure you were still coming tonight." Edd nodded and replied, "I still plan to make an appearance, yes."

The ginger athlete gave a sharp nod and said, "Awesome. You wanna grab some lunch after bit?" Once again Edd nodded and said, "Yes that would be fine, however I must ask you, why couldn't you just have messaged me all this?" The smirk never left his boyfriend's face as he came up to the sockhead and encircled his waist with his strong arms. "Because then I couldn't see your pretty face."

After a quick kiss, Kevin released him so that he could finish getting ready for the day and wake his two friends up. After a two or three hours, Kevin had shown up on his bike and taken Edd out for a bit. They ate at a small café downtown then headed to the park to chill for a while. It was a nice, quiet way to enjoy the day, and when Kevin finally took them back to the cul-de-sac, they stood in Kevin's garage holding each other for a bit. Edd looked up into Kevin's eyes and asked him, "You won't drink any alcohol, will you?" Kevin bit his lip and said, "I might end up drinking a little, babe. You know what the guys I hang out with are like. Even if I avoid the stuff, someone could slip some in my drink. I can't make you any promises, but I will try not to."

Though it was not the answer Edd wanted to hear, he nodded his head anyways and said no more. Kevin claimed his lips gently, seeking access into his mouth. Edd granted it and allowed Kevin's tongue to caress his own for a bit before he pulled away and said he had to go get ready. Kevin hesitantly let him go and walked him down the driveway. "The party starts in an hour, babe. Don't be too late, okay?"

Edd took his time heading back over to his house, not having anything to do. When he got inside, he quickly changed clothes and sat down in the easy chair in the living room and flipped on the TV. None of the channels were too interesting, and Edd found his eyelids trying to droop on him. He shook his head and fought it off for a bit, but in the end, he had to pull out his phone and set an alarm. '_A little rest won't hurt_.'

Edd jerked awake a bit later to pounding on his door. He looked at his phone and was horrified to see he had overslept, and that his alarm was set to 5 a.m. instead of p.m. He quickly threw himself up onto his feet and made his way to the door and flung it open to see a disheveled Eddy slouching there against the doorframe. "Eddy? What's happened to you?"

The shortest Ed giggled and drawled, "What'dya mean? I feel fineeeeee!" Edd put a hand to his friend's forehead and asked him, "Eddy are you drunk?" Once again his intoxicated friend giggled in a high pitched manner and said, "Nah…well, I dunno…maybe…Kevin's got some good stuff at his house…Y'oughta go over there…and get some." Edd immediately hauled Eddy into his house and put him down on the couch, where his friend promptly passed out. Edd would have to remember to come back and check on him as soon as he came back from Kevin's.

As Edd hustled across the circle drive, he could see people out in Kevin's yard and on his porch, and loud music was blasting from the house. Some people were shirtless, others had little to no clothes on at all, and most of them were drunk. Edd made his way into Kevin's house to see that the place was a disaster. The people inside were just as crazy as the ones out on the lawn. Edd tried to ignore the pounding of the bass hurting his head and looked around for Kevin, or Anna for that matter.

A shove to his right shoulder made him stumble and fall down. Immediately he got up and looked to the offender. It was Derrick Todd, although he hadn't done it on purpose, he was dancing around with a cheerleader and had knocked into him. The larger boy looked around and made eye contact with Edd, and he slurred, "Heyyy, I know youuuu. You're that…shrimpy dork."

Any other time, Edd would have run away. However finding Kevin and making him stop this nonsense was his top priority. "Derrick! Where's Kevin?" Todd blinked slowly and drawled incoherently. It took Edd a few times of making him repeat himself before he made out that the last place Todd had seen Kevin was in the bathroom. The sockhead bit his lip and started to make his way down the hall towards that very place. Who would have thought a simple party would have everyone _this_ drunk? It was a miracle the police weren't there yet!

Edd made it to the bathroom to find the door shut. He had to dodge a couple of baseball players stumbling down the hall singingly loudly with each other. He took a deep breath and grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open. Nobody was there. He sighed and shut the door again and turned back down the hall. As he passed Kevin's room he decided to peek into it, seeing that the door was open. Looking in, he couldn't see anything right away, so he reached for the light switch and flipped it.

Bad mistake.

Edd's emerald eyes landed on the bed, and on that bed sat two figures, arms entangled around each other, hands in hair, grabbing clothes and mouths sealed together. Edd would normally have just walked away, except for the fact that one of the figures was his red-headed boyfriend and other one was Nazz. The smart Ed shook his head, trying to unsee what he did, but the scene didn't change before him.

He finally stopped trying to deny it and cried out, "_KEVIN_! _NAZZ! WHAT ARE YOU DOING_?!" The couple tore apart from each other and looked up at him, and he only stared at them for a moment more before he turned and fled. He couldn't even hear the loud roar of the people around him, nor could he hear the music anymore. Only the sound of his heart pounding, breaking more and more as it did, rang in his ears.

He threw himself out the door and off the porch, darting towards his own house across the way. He made it up the sidewalk and into the house, slamming the door behind him and locking it. Tears streamed down his face as he ran into the living room and closed the curtains of the window so he didn't have to see that animal house. Turning back to the living room he walked over to the easy chair next to where Eddy still lay and sat down in it, bringing his hands to his face. He cried and cried for the longest time. If someone had knocked on the door, he wouldn't have heard it over his own sobs.

Edd opened his eyes and looked down at the floor through his fingers. He wished dearly that he didn't see what he had. This was all wrong. What had just happened?

* * *

I know, if there's a writer's Hell, I'm going to it for that.


	23. Chapter 23

OKAY, OKAY. Don't destroy me yet! Next chapter's here, and it's a huge one so I can get out of Writer's Hell now, right? ...Right? ...Guys?

You'll like this chapter, I think. Kevin gets what he deserves.

*Author's note- So I was reading other Kevedd fanfics and stumbled upon In Our Way. That story has a few points in it that are the EXACT same as mine. I giggled about it first, but then I thought about how confusing that might be to some readers. I would just like to say- I'd never even READ that story before I started mine, and I'm sure the author of that one didn't read my story before, either. This was an unfortunate accident. I'm sorry they're similar, I guess that author and I were just on the same pages when we wrote our stories. If I'd known 20 chapters prior, I would have changed the bullies' names and some of the things that happened, but it's too late in the game now. So just bare with me here.

* * *

After making sure Eddy wasn't passed out due to alcohol poisoning, Edd had left him on the couch and retired to his bedroom and lay on the pillow soaked in his own tears. Even through the solid walls of his house, he could still hear the faint pounding of the music across the way, and his heart ached with every beat. His phone vibrated in his pocket a few times and at first, he didn't want to look at it. He thought he knew who it was, and he didn't want to talk to that person. That's what his brain told him, anyways. However, his bruised heart quietly begged him to open it. To see the words on the screen and hopefully find out that it was all a big mistake. Finally he did pull it out and looked at the message. It wasn't Kevin however, it was Anna.

**[Hey it's me, can I come in? I'm not drunk I promise.]**

Edd nodded his head at his phone and made his way back downstairs to go unlock the door. He needed someone he knew he could trust. He unlocked the deadbolt and flipped the switch on the door and opened it up to face her. She gave him a knowing smile and slipped out of her shoes before coming in. Edd led her to the living room, not comfortable with having a girl up in his room.

He had originally intended to let Anna sit down and they would talk, but Edd found he couldn't make it that far. He threw his arms around the girl's shoulders and cried, spilling everything to her.

She listened quietly and rubbed his back for support. She knew what he'd seen, because she was with Nat just down the hall when Edd burst out of Kevin's room. Edd sobbed into her, not caring about his dignity anymore. Finally Anna made him sit down in the easy chair just as Eddy stirred and sat up. "Oh man…My head…Hey, what's wrong with Sockhead?"

Anna repeated everything to Eddy while Edd sat in the chair and tried to calm down. Eddy was red-faced and angry when Anna had finished and stood up to go do something about it, but immediately sat back down and held his pounding head. The three sat in silence for a bit longer, and the smart Edd, being polite as he was, felt bad for making himself the center of attention. He tried to push Kevin out of his mind and asked Anna, "Did you get to spend time with Nat?"

Anna nodded but responded, "Edd, it's okay to worry about yourself right now. You're hurting." Edd shook his head and told her, "It helps me forget, it really does." Anna nodded and Eddy stirred from his spot over on the couch and demanded in his usual snappy voice. "Who's Nat? You mean that dude with the green hair?" Edd forced himself to smile, his friends took the bait and weren't worrying about him. "Yes, I believe Anna likes him." The girl blushed and said, "Wait a minute! I thought we were talking about Double D here!"

The party had seemed to die away because the loud music stopped, and a glance out the window by Anna showed that everyone had disappeared. It wasn't too much longer before the doorbell rang. All three jerked up and looked at each other before Anna stood up. She crossed over to the living room window and opened the curtain up slightly to look out. She turned back to the two Eds who were staring at her waiting for a response and slowly, she nodded her head and confirmed their suspicions.

Edd cleared his throat as best he could and said, "I really wish to be left alone right now. I'm sure there's an explanation, but I do not want to hear it."

Anna nodded and volunteered. She walked over to the door just as the doorbell rang again and took a deep breath to steady herself and remain calm before she opened the door to face Kevin. "Hello Kevin, what can I do for you?"

The boy would not look her in the eye. Instead he looked down at the ground and said, "Anna don't play me like that. I know I screwed up, but it was all a mistake. I just want to talk to him." The girl shook her head and stood firm in the door. "Well true as that may be, you're gonna have to wait. Double D is still inconsolable and Eddy with him. It might not be the best thing for your well-being to go in there right now."

Kevin reached up and scratched the back of his neck. "Alright. I'll come back, but for now tell him that I'm sorry." Anna wouldn't have taken him seriously if she didn't catch his eye as he turned to walk away. He was in tears himself, though his voice didn't show it. She stepped back into the house and shut the door. When she reappeared in front of the Eds, Edd had seemingly calmed down and Eddy was still holding his head. She came to a crouching position near Edd and said, "It's okay, Edd. He's gone for now."

Edd looked at her with his glassy green eyes and asked, "Was he mad?" She shook her head. "No, he wasn't mad. I told him not to come in anyways, though. You guys can talk it out later. Right now you just need some space."

Anna and Eddy stayed the rest of the evening, they even called Ed over so that they could indulge in things to keep Edd distracted. Eddy was the first to leave after the sun went down, complaining that his head was about to explode. Edd pleaded with him to come back and spend the night once more. He wasn't sure if he could handle being alone that night. Eddy agreed but on the condition that he go get some aspirin and some new clothes. Edd also requested that Eddy call first before coming over, just in case he were showering.

Anna had left after that, having walked to the party and had a bit of a walk home, though Edd didn't ask her, she jokingly informed him that she wasn't planning on staying the night with the three Eds. It was only Ed who remained and he did his best to entertain Edd by reciting horror stories from his comic books. Stories about flesh-eating mutants, and psychotic killers that killed teenage boys. Edd didn't believe any of it, but couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

After a bowl of popcorn and listening to about three of Ed's stories, Edd also asked Ed if he would stay with him that night. Ed grinned wildly and agreed right away, he got up and burst out the door, yelling that he had to go pack. Edd immediately rushed over to call out to him, telling him to call as well before he came back, and closed and locked the door behind him. He reached up to take his black cap off and ran his fingers through his black hair.

Standing straight, he padded upstairs to get his towel and his phone so he could take a shower. He checked his phone repeatedly as he gathered his things and walked to the bathroom, but there were no new messages. When he reached the bathroom, being home alone, he left the door open as he set all his things down. He reached over to the small radio on the counter and flicked it on. The music helped him keep the sadness drowned out. As he started to undo his pants, he thought he heard something downstairs rattling. Quickly putting his pants back in order, he turned the radio off and left the bathroom to peek down the stairs, but there was nothing going on that he could see. He'd turned off the lights downstairs to save power, so the only light he had was the one from the bathroom.

The horror stories that Ed had just been telling merely half an hour ago started playing through Edd's mind and he shuddered as he made his way back to the bathroom. He paused a moment and wondered if he should go to his room and get Jim. The hall was dark too, though and Edd's room was at the end in the darkest corner. He decided to let it go and return to the bathroom unarmed. He didn't shut the door though, if there was a psycho in his house, he wanted to be able to hear them coming. That was silly, though. There were no psychos in Peach Creek, those were just stories. However he wasn't about to undress himself, just in case.

Edd sat in silence for a minute, but he didn't hear anything else so he slowly flicked the radio back on and walked over to the shower and turned the water on. Just as he had relaxed and calmed back down, that's when he heard it, the faint but familiar whine of the staircase creaking. They only creaked like that when they were under pressure, more to the point, when someone was walking on them.

Panicking, he grabbed the first thing he could, which was a hard, long wooden-handled scrub brush from the shower and quickly scrambled over to climb on top of the toilet, which sat right behind the open door, so when whoever it was walked in, they couldn't see Edd right away. As the footsteps stopped at the staircase and came closer to the bathroom door, Edd raised the brush over his head and squeezed his eyes shut tightly. As soon as the feet hit the linoleum and crossed in, Edd let instinct take over and he yelled loudly, swinging the hard brush down.

Whoever it was got a good whack, as the noise of the wooden side of the brush cracked throughout the bathroom, followed by a pained cry of, '"Son of a BITCH!" Edd's eyes shot open and he looked down to find Kevin bent over slightly holding one side of his head, hat fallen to the ground. Immediately he gasped Kevin's name and dropped the wooden brush, hopping off the toilet seat. He grabbed Kevin's head in his hands, repeatedly crying "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Oh lord, I'm so, so sorry!"

Kevin's blue eyes were watering as he looked up at Edd and hissed, "Damn, dork. A simple 'go away' would have been fine. Jeezus." Forgetting about everything that had happened that evening, Edd took Kevin and guided him to sit down on the edge of the bathtub and made him wait while Edd ran to grab ice. When he returned, he immediately pushed the baggie to the growing lump on Kevin's head. The jock took it out of his hand and held it, looking at Edd. The sockhead cleared his throat and murmured, "H-How did you even get into my house?"

Kevin pulled the spare house key out of his pocket and waved it at Edd, who blushed furiously. He had forgotten about those. "My apologies. I-I forgot…" Now the memories were becoming sharper in his mind and Edd scooted away from Kevin to sit down on the toilet lid and looked away, for fear that he would cry.

For a few minutes they sat in absolute silence while Kevin continued to nurse the goose-egg on his head and, Edd assumed, wait for the stars in his vision to subside. He'd swung with everything he had in those small arms of his… To be fair though, after the pain Kevin had put him through that night, Edd felt he deserved at least a _little_ bit of repercussion himself.

A touch on his leg brought him back to the present. Kevin had knelt in front of him and put his hands on his thighs, and he looked at Edd pleadingly. "Edd, it was all a mistake. Nazz was getting so close to me at the party… so I had a drink and... Edd, please believe me, I wouldn't do this to you on purpose."

A hot tear slid out of Edd's eye. He wouldn't dare touch Kevin, fearing this was some sort of dream and touching him might wake him up back on his tear-stained pillow. "Y-You were drunk?" When the redhead nodded, Edd's mouth opened but no words came out. Instead, he immediately got up and moved away, unable to handle such news. It was a tiny bit of a relief, but mostly it was anger and worry. The tears cascaded down his face once more, but Kevin didn't need to see. "I-I can't believe this."

Two hands grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to turn around. Instead of holding him or talking to him, Kevin moved to grip him under the arms and lifted him up over his shoulder, gripping his thighs in one arm and his waist with his other. Edd immediately tried to kick and pound Kevin's back with his tiny fists. "Kevin! Unhand me this instant!"

The jock ignored him, holding the boy fast, and walked out of the bathroom, heading down the hall. Edd knew exactly where he was going and it only made him try to fight harder, though it did nothing.

Kevin kicked the door open and brought his prize over to the bed, ignoring Edd's shouts of putting clean slippers on or anything else he was shouting. He deposited Edd non-too gently on the bed and before he could get away, Kevin sat down next to him and wrapped his arms around him tightly.

Edd couldn't move to struggle, he could only cry out at Kevin. "I'm serious, Kevin! If you don't let me go, I'll…I'll bite you!" Kevin laughed hollowly at the threat and held the smaller frame in his arms like it was his lifeline. "I'm not letting you go until you hear me out."

Edd squirmed uselessly and blubbered, "No. You said you would try not to drink, but you…you..." Kevin reached up with one hand to gingerly brush away the tears that stained his partner's face and kissed his forehead while he waited for Edd to finish crying.

When Edd's sobs quieted down, he pushed his forehead against his love's as he liked to do and spoke, "I know I said I wouldn't drink. I _did_ try babe, honest. I don't remember how it happened."

Kevin blinked back his own tears and continued, "Look, all I know is, Nazz was coming onto me at the beginning, and I kept trying to get her off, y'know? Then later Nat handed me a soda that tasted funny, I threw it away, then the next thing I know, I'm waking up on my bed, and Nat told me what happened with me and Nazz and that you were there, and you saw…"

Kevin trailed off as his own voice caught. He would not cry, Kevin Barr didn't cry over other people, but the sight of a broken Edd in front of him, teary emerald eyes staring up at him in shock was almost too much for him to take. He claimed Edd's lips quickly, so Edd wouldn't see the tear that slid down the side of his face into the bed. They stayed lip-locked for a moment longer before Kevin parted from him and whispered, "Please forgive me, babe. I didn't mean any of it."

Edd blinked and took in the whole situation for a moment. "Y-You're _positive_ you want to be with me and not Nazz? You know, they say that drunken actions are sober thoughts." Kevin grimaced at his own stupidity before he pleaded again, "Edd, if I liked Nazz instead of you, do you think I would want to be with you every second of the day? Don't you think I would try to come up with excuses _not_ to see you?"

The smart Ed shivered at the words 'be with you', and pondered it again as Kevin continued on, "I promise you babe, I have never once thought of her when I'm with you, in bed or otherwise." He let go of Edd to shove him over on his back, then moved over him, placing his hands on either side of his head. He whispered, "And the only person I think of during sex is the one I'm inside of."

Edd shuddered again. "It's not her. It's you. It's always been you." He lowered himself onto Edd and kissed him soundly once more and murmured into his mouth, "I love _you_, Edd." How could he refuse? Edd melted into Kevin, lifting his arms up to wrap around Kevin's neck as their tongues danced wildly in each other's mouths. They parted only long enough for Edd to murmur, "I f-forgive you Kevin. I'm s-sorry I didn't want to listen to you."

Just as Kevin was about to rip Edd's clothes off and show him just how much he really loved him, Edd's phone rang. Edd broke their kiss and said, "I have to answer that." Kevin reclaimed his lips, trying to beckon him to stay. "No you don't." Edd whined through the kiss, "It's probably Eddy. I asked him and Ed to stay the night." Kevin released him slowly and let him up to grab the phone and answer.

"_Ed's with me, we're coming over now Sockhead. Be ready._"

Eddy wasn't much for chat, and Edd placed his phone back down on the desk. He turned to face Kevin, who was standing up in front of the bed. "Guess I should go, huh?" Edd nodded and replied, "I apologize. I didn't think you would come over like this tonight." Kevin waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "No problem. I'll have you to myself eventually."

Edd made Kevin take the back door because Eddy would spot him coming out the front and try to kill him, despite Kevin's claim to take Eddy down with one hand. Kevin turned back to Edd as he was leaving and claimed his lips one last time. "I really am sorry, dork." Edd nodded and whispered, "I forgive you, Kevin. I love you." Kevin smiled a genuine smile and whispered back, "Good." And he was gone.

The next day Edd was a little groggy. Having stayed up way too late the last two nights, he found that he wasn't in the best of moods to talk. So he left his friends in their blankets on the floor and got dressed hastily in the bathroom to avoid any awkward moments, then headed downstairs to find something to eat.

A glance at the clock told him that it was almost noon. He groaned at the morning wasted and dug in the fridge for breakfast/lunch. He heard a pair of feet non-too-quietly trudge into the kitchen after him and faced a yawning Eddy, who plopped down in one of the kitchen chairs and told Edd to bring him something to eat. A scan in the fridge told Edd he had no milk, which spoiled most of the ideas he had for breakfast.

Standing up straight and fixing the kinks in his spine, he faced Eddy and said, "If we're going to eat at my house, I need to go to the grocery story first. My supply of milk has run out." Just then Ed came down the stairs talking incoherently to himself in his half-sleep stage. Eddy didn't even argue, he stood up and said, "Yeah yeah, let Lumpy and me get dressed and we'll go with ya." Edd nodded and replied, "Very well, I will wait for you outside."

Stepping out into the sunlight proved to be way more of a challenge than Edd had thought. He shielded his face from the light and squinted as he looked around the cul-de-sac. Jimmy and Sarah were playing some game together, Jonny was with Plank heading off towards the playground, but Kevin, Nazz, and Rolf were nowhere to be seen.

Edd looked over at Kevin's house to see that the yard was still a disaster from last night. Oh, so filthy! Who would just leave those vile things like beer cans and toilet paper strewn all over the yard? Try as he might, Edd found he could not resist the urge to go clean up.

He ran into his house for a moment to obtain a trash bag and some rubber gloves, then hurried over across the way to Kevin's, where he peeked around to make sure the ginger wasn't outside, then set about cleaning up the trash. Some of the cans weren't even empty as Edd discovered when he picked up a half-drank can that promptly spilled on the ground. He contorted his face in disgust as he threw it in the bag and continued on. As Edd continued through the yard, he bent over to pick up another item, and a husky voice said behind him, "You don't have to do that."

Edd wheeled around to face Kevin. "Kevin! How did you know I was here?" The jock motioned behind him, where Rolf and Nat were picking up trash in the back yard. He focused his attention back to the sock-headed Ed. "Seriously though, you don't have to help. It wasn't your party." Edd shrugged and said, "It's my cul-de-sac though, and I don't want it muddled by the unruly appearance of a dirty house."

Kevin smirked at Edd's vocabulary as Edd turned away from him again and started to pick up more litter. As Kevin approached from behind to grab the boy in his arms, a sharp voice from the street howled, "YOU LOSER!"

Edd and Kevin turned to see who the voice belonged to just as a small pink blur raced by Edd and a loud whoosh of air combined with a dull thud. Eddy hit Kevin in the jaw, making the athlete stumble back.

Edd reached out to his best friend, "EDDY! DON'T!" The smaller Ed jumped at Kevin and screamed, "WHERE DO YOU GET OFF?!" Kevin grabbed Eddy's shirt collar in one hand and easily lifted him off his feet and into the air, and growled, "What are you bitchin' about?" Eddy aimed a kick in Kevin's chest and yelled, "GET AWAY FROM SOCKHEAD, YOU MANWHORE!"

Edd immediately threw himself onto Eddy and tried to pull him away from Kevin, but being the weakest member, his struggling did nothing. The two archenemies engaged in a heated fistfight and Edd could do nothing. He feebly threw himself upon one of the combatants again, this time earning himself a rogue fist to the cheek, knocking him off. "Oh, look what you did NOW, Skipper!" "FUCK YOU, BOXHEAD! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Edd stood up and rubbed his cheek before he cried out for help. He was rewarded when Rolf and Nat came flying around the corner. "Captain! Knock it off!" "Rolf has not seen such an intense slappy fight between two ladies since Mama's yak made home into my Aunt Berthilda's chicken coop!" Rolf's insults and Nat's shouting did nothing to stop the fight.

Edd turned to them and begged, "Please Rolf! Separate them before they cause irreparable damage to themselves!" Rolf pounded his fists together in front of his chest and marched over, grabbing both boys by the back of their necks and pulling them apart. "Cease this animal behavior! You are worse than Viktor and Wilfred at a trough of Nana's stuffed pepper balls!"

Eddy was sporting holey jeans, and some purple bruises while Kevin suffered a bloody nose and a rip in one of the sleeves of his orange hoodie. Eddy spat viciously, "Well maybe if a certain ASSHOLE would keep it in his damn pants and not chase after everything that _fucking moves_, we wouldn't have to fight!" Kevin growled back, "It was an ACCIDENT you moron. Double dweeb knows that." At the mention of his name, all eyes scanned the yard for a certain black ski cap, but the smart Ed was nowhere to be seen.

Back across the cul-de-sac, Ed sat on Edd's front porch with his arm wrapped around a saddened, pale boy with emerald eyes. The smart Ed brought his knees to his chin and said, "It's my fault, Ed. I forgot to tell Eddy about Kevin's mistake. It's all my fault." Ed patted his friend in an affectionate manner. "There, there my wet-faced friend. Ed is here."

The two friends sat there for only a minute longer before four other figures approached them. Ed smiled in a stupid manner and Edd looked up from his knees as Rolf came to them and cleared his throat. "Rolf has brought forth the two sour beets!" He pulled Kevin and Eddy forward to Edd as Nat cleared his throat, scowling at the two. "Double D, I think these two have something to say."

Eddy looked away from Edd's face as he kicked at a pebble and said, "Um…sorry, Sockhead. I didn't know that two faced traitor- OUCH! Damn, Rolf! Um… that Shovelchin was still your boyfriend." Edd straightened his back and let his legs fall into a crisscross as he looked at Eddy. "I didn't mean for you to hurt Kevin, Eddy. I am fully capable of handling my own relationship problems, you know." Big Ed tisked and said, "A good buttocks finds its own seat, Eddy." All eyes trained on the lump awkwardly before Edd cleared his throat and said, "Anyways… apology accepted, Eddy."

Nat shoved Kevin forward so that he almost tripped over Edd, earning him a scowl before Kevin sighed and looked down to his lover's face. Through the pain stabbing his nose, he shook it off and knelt down to Edd's level. "Hey man, I'm sorry I wailed on your friend." Edd smiled gently at Kevin and teased, "Are you ever going to stop causing trouble?" Kevin smiled back in response to that and reached up to cup his face briefly, which Edd leaned into. Edd and Kevin stood up and Edd turned to Rolf and said, "Thank you, Rolf." He waved it off as he and Nat went back across the street to finish picking up the litter. Kevin started to leave with them, but Edd grabbed his hand. "Let me clean you up first."

Edd led Kevin back into his house as Eddy cried out, "But what about lunch?!" Kevin slammed the door shut behind him and let Edd lead him up to the bathroom. Edd sat Kevin down on the lid of the toilet and looked at his injuries. He poked at Kevin's nose on either side (_Ouch. Ow, stop it_!) to make sure it wasn't broken before he handed Kevin a tissue to hold against it. The rest of Kevin was fine, except on his arm Edd could see a little blood through the rip in his hoodie. "K-Kevin, I hate to ask, but I can't see your arm with that hoodie on. Would you mind…?"

Kevin smirked as he quickly discarded the hoodie, leaving him in nothing but a white undershirt. Edd flushed but focused on the three deep scratches Eddy left on his upper arm. He obtained a disinfectant spray and a roll of gauze before set about cleaning Kevin. The ginger was mostly quiet up until now, as he watched Edd fix him, he muttered, "Kinda sexy, watching you take care of me." Edd bit his lip and chose to ignore that comment as he finished wrapping the gauze around the wound before he straightened up with a smile and said, "All done!"

Kevin grabbed him quickly and pulled him down onto his lap. Edd struggled to get a more stable seat, straddling Kevin's lap and putting his hands on Kevin's shoulders. Kevin looked up at Edd with a smirk and leaned forward to rest his chin on Edd's chest and said, "You're my little nurse." Edd smiled a little bit a playfully offered, "Only when you've been naughty."

Edd could immediately see Kevin's pupils dilate and Kevin made an animalistic noise in his throat that signaled his approval. He tightened his grip on Edd and said, "I wanna fuck you so bad right now." Edd was used to Kevin's behavior, and also acknowledged his own arousal growing. Though he wasn't as vocal, Edd felt that at times, he was no better than Kevin. "Then what are you waiting for?"

That was all Kevin needed. He slid his hands down Edd's back until they rested on his hindquarters. Kevin kneaded Edd gently and began to buck his hips against Edd, eliciting a gasp out of him. Before Edd could move to kiss Kevin, they could hear the front door downstairs and Eddy called out, "Sockhead! Let's GO!" Edd sighed and hung his head, thinking they were done, but Kevin was tired of being cock blocked.

He stood up and released Edd for a moment to walk to the doorway and he shouted out, "You _better_ wait downstairs if you're smart! Double dweeb's _mine_ right now!" He slammed the bathroom door shut and locked it, turning back to Edd. He advanced on him like a predator and pushed him back against the bathroom wall. "Kevin! There are guests in my house! I will not allow you to-" Kevin cut him off with his mouth and immediately began fumbling with Edd's pants.

"I don't care. You're mine, and I want you out of those clothes _now_." He pulled their clothes off and started to kiss Edd's face and neck. Edd kissed his forehead and hair in return before Kevin stood straight and pulled his body close. Before he could get too carried away, Edd broke free and ran over to the counter and pulled a small bottle of lube out.

Kevin took it from him and pulled Edd close so he was facing him. He squeezed some of the cool liquid out onto his fingers, coating them evenly before he tossed the bottle aside and grabbed his love by his head, pulling his face so close that their noses slid together. He inserted two fingers into Edd and thrusted them slowly, watching with satisfaction as Edd's pupils contracted and he cried out. Kevin thrusted a bit more and scissored his fingers within Edd a few times before he pulled them out and pumped his hand over his own cock a few times to apply the rest of the lube. Kevin looked up at Edd once more and asked him, "You ready?" Edd bit his lip and nodded, turning around.

Kevin didn't enter him just yet, and when Edd looked back to ask him if he was okay, Kevin reached up to grab his chin and face him forward. Edd looked forward and found himself staring into the mirror nailed into the back of the door. His thin naked reflection greeted him, along with Kevin's muscular one. He could see Kevin smirk behind him and grasp his hips, thrusting into him. Edd inhaled a sharp breath through clenched teeth as he watched Kevin's expression in the mirror. His face twisted in a scowl of concentration as he slowly moved in and out of Edd. Edd watched in the mirror as Kevin hand ran down from his hip to grasp Edd's hardness and pump his hand.

Edd groaned and sighed Kevin's name as the ginger smirked and watched Edd watch his hand in the mirror. "You like watching me play with your cock, babe?" Edd answered in a small cry as Kevin squeezed his shaft lightly in his hand. "You like watching me fuck your tight little body?" Edd threw his head back onto Kevin's shoulder as Kevin looked down at Edd's creamy flesh and sank his teeth into Edd's neck. He bucked his hips wildly into Edd, and at a particularly deep thrust, Edd's head shot up off of Kevin's shoulder and he cried out quietly, "K-Kevin! I c-can't…!" Kevin whispered, "Watch me, babe. Watch me fuck you til you cum."

Edd's legs were almost jelly as he looked at his reflection as Kevin's hand pumped over him again and again and Kevin's body jerked against his own. The smart Ed bucked his hips against Kevin roughly, who cried out deeply and hissed, "Feel it, Edd. Feel me cum into you!" Edd's back arched as Kevin filled him with his seed and it wasn't long before he released as well. They stood there panting, Kevin's arms wrapped around Edd. Finally after they caught their breath, Edd murmured, "We should probably go apologize to Eddy…" Kevin could only nod, too winded to argue.

After cleaning up and throwing their clothes back on, the two boys descended the stairs to find Ed and Eddy parked on the couch, Eddy's face particularly sour. Kevin smirked at his expression and ribbed, "Enjoy listening?" Edd turned bright red and nearly shrieked at Kevin. Eddy made a face of disgust, but before he could retort, Edd piped up, "Uh, shouldn't we be headed to the grocery store now?" Eddy closed his mouth and got up, motioning for the sockhead and Ed to follow.

Just before they parted ways outside, Kevin grabbed Edd's arm and asked him, "Hey, dork. I have a question for you." Edd nodded his head and looked at Kevin gently. "Next week, you wanna be my walking partner at graduation?" Edd thought about it for a moment before he asked, "Would you be willing to walk with Ed and Eddy around us as well as your other friends?" Kevin's eyes narrowed for a moment and Edd thought he was going to say no, but he surprised the smart Ed by giving his arm a gentle squeeze and said, "Yeah, sure." Edd beamed. "Certainly, Kevin! I look forward to it!" Kevin smirked at Edd's happy face. "Cool man."

* * *

I gotta quit ending these things with sex, seriously. I should start a new thing where every chapter begins with sex.

I just love writing Ed and Double D together. It just, their friendship is SO true and so pure. Ed looks to do his best to please Edd, and Edd looks out for Ed's well-being and uses Ed as his best confident. I love it so much.

Leave a review with whatever you are thinking, and I will gladly take all things into consideration!


	24. Chapter 24

Hey guys! We're getting close to the end, and so I wanted to ask you guys a favor. I am putting off that pirate story I told you about for a little bit, on the grounds that I have NO idea how to go about it just yet.

SO! I would like to know in the meantime, would you guys prefer me to write another regular KevEdd story, or would you guys like to see a rev!KevEdd story? I can do either, I just want your opinion. Leave me a review with whatever is going through your brain!

* * *

The week rolled right by, and Wednesday was the last day of the high school seniors. Edd stood in front of his locker, staring at the emptiness inside. What once housed numerous textbooks, folders containing every piece of paper he had written homework on, and numerous drawings from his dear friend was now a hollow shell. It made Edd sad in a way, to think that this was the last time he would ever have a locker. Once he hit college, everything of his would be kept in a book bag in his dorm room. The smart Ed heaved a sigh as he took the final magnets and the small mirror out of his locker.

As he was throwing all the extra papers in the hallway recycling container, his two best friends joined him. As Eddy threw his things away, he started going on about wanting to get out of school and start his summer. Eddy had no plan in mind for college, which bothered Edd to no end. Edd was prepared, he was going to the state's top medical university. He wanted nothing more than to be a pharmacist, and had already applied and set his course.

Ed was going to college too, he was staying at Peach Creek Community to get his degree in agriculture and become a farmer. Though it was a small dream compared to Edd's, the smarter one accepted and encouraged Ed's dream of being a chicken farmer.

Kevin hadn't really told Edd what his plans were, though Edd pleaded with him to know. Kevin just kept telling him to 'let him figure it out'. Speaking of Kevin, the usual crowd was bustling down the hallway, and Edd could make out Kevin's flaming red bangs among the heads. Turning his head, Eddy caught sight of the jock too, just as the group had almost reached them. Eddy then quickly grabbed Edd's hand and snapped at his friends, "Let's go. We don't have time for them." Edd turned briefly to wave in greeting at Kevin, who scowled after Eddy.

Kevin turned to open his locker and start cleaning it out as well when a hand on his shoulder brought his attention to a beautiful blonde girl who giggled at him. "Oh, hey Nazz."

The girl leaned against her own locker and began, "So Kev, I was thinking tonight after graduation practice, we could go see a movie? I hear that new monster film is playing." The boy nodded uninterestedly and said, "Yeah, that's cool. We can do that." He could see Nazz's face flush out of the corner of his eye as she then inched closer to him and cuddled up to his muscular arm. "Great, babe!"

Kevin bit his lip and inwardly sighed as he let go of his locker door and turned to her. She had been doing things like that since Sunday after the party. She would go out of her way to cuddle up to him, or touch him in any way, and he wasn't sure he enjoyed it. He grabbed her hand and told her to walk with him and guided her away from the rest of their crowd of friends.

When Kevin glanced back over his shoulder and found that their friends were a good distance away, he looked down at his feet and asked her, "Nazz, what do you think we are?" The girl giggled some more and said, "Um, I don't know. We're best friends!" Kevin nodded in agreement and continued, "Right. We're best _friends_." He put emphasis on the word 'friends'. He noticed that she clutched his hand tightly in hers as she said, "Well, that night at the party…"

There is was. Kevin stopped listening to her right then and turned to her, waiting for her to finish saying whatever she was. "Nazz…that entire party was a fuck up." The girl tilted her head and asked him, "What do you mean, Kev?" The ginger athlete sighed and reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "I mean, I was _really_ drunk when we made out, it was an accident, Nazz. I would never hurt you like that on purpose. You're my best friend, but you _know_ Double D is my boyfriend."

Then he could tell he crossed some line. Nazz crossed her arms in front of her chest and got that glint in her eyes that signaled she was getting angry. "What's so special about Double D anyways? Sure, he's a great guy and all, but what does he have that I don't?" Kevin took his hat off to run his hand through his hair roughly and tried, "Nazz, it's not like that."

"Then what _is_ it like?" Even when Nazz was pissed, she remained a gentle creature and Kevin felt no fear. He looked into her hazel eyes and said, "I dunno. Edd is, well, he's never let me down yet. He is always happy with whatever I give him, y'know? Even if I don't have anything to do with him all day except for just one smile, he's happy with that. He knows I got a rep to keep up at this school and he doesn't make me try to include him in the group if it doesn't work. Everything you've heard about us was my choice, not his. Edd doesn't beg me for my attention, he doesn't try to change me."

The blonde chewed on her lip and nodded rigidly. "I suppose I'm never happy with what you give _me_, then?" Kevin sighed vocally that time and said, "Nazz, I didn't wanna say this, but this is getting crazy. Think about all the years before this one. I was head over fucking _heels_ for you!"

Kevin was mad now, mainly because of the old hurt that still resided in a small piece of his heart. "You never wanted anything except maybe a kiss once in a while when we were alone. Every time I tried to make something more of us, you'd push me away. Hell, the only reason we got to the bedroom is cuz I swore I'd never say anything about it again!"

They never broke eye contact as Kevin calmed himself down and continued, "I don't think it's cool that you've waited until I've found someone who wants to be with me, _then_ you want me to be more than a friend." Now that Kevin had finally said it, he felt a weight lift off of him. Nazz stood there for a moment staring at him, trying to come up with a remark. She couldn't though, and instead she put her hand on her hip and nodded. "You win. I'm the one who's being ridiculous here."

At her tone, Kevin made a noise and said, "Don't be like that." The blonde threw her hands up and said, "Forget it, Kev." As she walked away, Kevin could only watch her and shake his head.

A voice said behind him, "Will she be alright?" Kevin turned to face his raven-haired love. "I dunno, man. But I had to say it, it's been bugging me." He crossed over to the paler boy and asked him, "How much of that did you hear?" Edd shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Enough, I suppose." Kevin wanted nothing more than to take Edd in his arms, but being in the middle of a hallway in school was probably not the best time.

He reached out and gave Edd a gentle clap on the arm and said, "See you at practice." Edd smiled at him but as Kevin passed him to go back to his friends, he felt disappointed that he couldn't have said more.

Graduation practice came and it was required that everyone wear their caps and gowns. Edd, being the orderly person he was, had his gown pressed and spotless for the rehearsal and wore his peachy-orange clothes proudly, though he refused to take his other hat off, and left it on under the cap.

Anna and his two Ed friends joined him in the common room, waiting for the show to start. Edd greeted them all with his usual grin and asked Anna, "Who's your partner?" A voice behind his right shoulder smoothly responded, "Who'dya think?" He grinned even brighter as he turned to see Nat approaching them, Kevin by his side.

When the oddball group of friends gathered together, Eddy and Kevin refused to look at each other, mostly out of awkward embarrassment for their interaction over the weekend. The few minutes was passed with a few comments from Nat and some laughter from Anna and Lumpy before they had to line up in their rows with the rest of their graduation class.

The music started playing faint at first, then grew louder, as did the thumping in Edd's heart. This was really happening! In a mere 48 hours, they would be doing this for real. Knowing that the teachers and other staff would be watching the practice, Edd dare not touch Kevin or even look at him, he merely kept his gap-toothed smile plastered on his face as he stared straightforward. Kevin must have been feeling the same way, as he kept his own hand firmly to his side as their line walked from the commons into the gym, where the ceremony would be held.

When they lined up to "receive" their diplomas from the principal, Kevin stood behind Edd in the line, and although they said nothing, Edd could feel those sapphire eyes boring into the back of his head. When Edd's name had been called and he had crossed the stage, he didn't receive much admiration, a few claps here and there, but mostly the room was silent because nobody really knew all that much about him.

The sockhead quickly flounced back to his seat as Kevin's name was called so he could watch his partner cross the stage. Though this was practice, being the all-star captain he was, he had to show off by throwing his hands in the air and facing the graduating class after shaking hands with the principal, earning many cheers and claps from the group, including Edd.

Edd tried to clap with as much vigor for his other friends as he did Kevin, and by the time practice was over and they were leaving to change back into their clothes, his hands were sore. After switching back to his day clothes, Edd waited for Eddy and Ed to change and as they headed out, Edd caught sight of Kevin walking with some of the other baseball players and Nat. Though he waved, Kevin didn't seem to notice him, which put the smart Ed off a little bit.

The three Eds spent the rest of their night together at Ed's house, reading comic books, watching TV and annoying the hell out of Sarah and Jimmy, though Edd could not figure how. He swore he checked his phone more times that night than he ever had since getting it, but Kevin never tried to contact him.

It was almost midnight by the time Edd tried to text Kevin, in hopes that the jock was still awake.

**[Greetings, Kevin! Are you as excited to finally graduate as I am? It will be a splendid thing, though I am a little disappointed we won't be in a class anymore. Hope you are well!]**

Edd had heard Kevin telling Nazz how he was patient and never asked Kevin for more than what he gave him that day before, and Edd felt he was dishonoring Kevin's words by trying to talk to him, but he felt that Kevin needed to know that he was on Edd's mind.

The smart Ed waited until 2:00 in the morning before his body finally told him that it was going to sleep without his permission, and as he felt the dark fuzzies take him, he tried one last time to check his messages, but to no avail.

Though he was disheartened when he awoke to no new messages, he figured Kevin must be very busy. When Eddy and Ed gotten up and around, Ed's mother had given Ed some money to go get breakfast, and they all headed out to the doughnut shop downtown. As the three boys passed through the cul-de-sac, Edd looked hopefully towards Kevin's house, but it was darkened inside, and nobody was outside, not even Kevin's motorcycle sat out on the driveway.

It was the first day in a long time Edd didn't have any sort of homework or plans. After he had gone home and showered, and cleaned up the house, he sat around the quiet house thinking to himself. As he was finally about to head back over to Eddy's, his phone vibrated.

**[Srry I didnt respond dork. I have a surprise for u. Come over here.]**

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That scene with Edd and the locker, that pain is REAL. You never know how much you love your locker until you wake up in college one day and all your shit is scattered about your dorm floor and you can't find half of it. Seriously, cherish those lockers. ;)


	25. Chapter 25

Someone posted a review, asking me to draw Anna for you guys... It...you...you guys actually CARE about Anna? :O I thought she'd just be a side show! That makes me SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY! Of course, I have a drawing of her for you guys.

Gabby, and whoever else would like to see a picture of Anna I drew- Type Twitter dot com (the actual dot, fanfiction won't let me write it the normal way. :/) into your search bar and copy the rest of this link right here: /Cara_dactyl/status/359125956851531777/photo/1

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As Edd came to find out, Kevin had more than one surprise waiting for him. As soon as he came across the way and got up to the house, he found himself lying in the ginger's bed, shirt up, pants down with Kevin pounding into him mercilessly. Afterwards when they were lying under the sheets his redheaded partner turned to him and greeted him breathlessly, "Hey, dork." Edd giggled and placed a small kiss on his sweaty cheek, "Salutations, Kevin."

Kevin stood from the bed and motioned for Edd to follow. He took the thin boy over to his closet where he pulled out his huge black and peach-colored letterman's jacket and turned to Edd. "I had this cleaned, and all the medals sewn on." He draped the extremely weighty article of clothing around Edd's naked frame. Indeed it was heavy, and the numerous medals from all the sports Kevin had been in during high school didn't help, but the gentle clinking they made as the jacket was moved around was almost melodic.

Edd's eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas morning. Though the garment was hot and giant on him, he snuggled into it and took in Kevin's musky scent that graced the inside of it. "It's a magnificent jacket, Kevin." The ginger felt his cheeks pinken. "You think so?"

Edd nodded his head as he buried his nose in the collar and inhaled. Kevin stepped up to wrap his arms around him and murmured, "Then I want you to keep it for now." Edd jerked his face up to Kevin's and started to decline, but Kevin cut him off with a kiss. Guiding Edd back to the bed, he sat down and pulled his love into his lap. "I've been needing to talk to you about college, babe."

Edd's warm smile immediately faded as he looked at Kevin. The ginger tightened his grip around Edd and started, "I've been applying for scholarships since January. I've finally been accepted by a university." Edd nodded and said warmly, "That's very admirable, Kevin. What are they going to give you?"

Kevin continued, "They'll give me a full ride through my first year if I play on their football and baseball teams." Edd found his hands through the thick jacket around him and brought them up to Kevin's shoulders. "Then you must go there, Kevin. That's without a doubt, the best offer you could ask for." Kevin turned his head to the side and placed a small kiss on one of Edd's small hands. "I know babe, but the thing is, it's out of state."

Edd tilted his head to the side and asked him, "How far away?" Though his partner's face remained calm and emotionless, Edd could see the pain in his blue eyes. "It's eighteen hours from Peach Creek, and almost twenty-four from the university you're going to." Edd's heart fell into his stomach at the news. Even on the weekends, there was no way they could meet up, the drive was too far.

"W-Well, as unfortunate as that is…I repeat, you could not ask for a better scholarship. I insist you go." Kevin didn't respond, instead he claimed Edd's lips in a passionate kiss. He pulled them back so they were lying on the bed together, the weight of his letterman's jacket pinning Edd to him. They continued like that for a long time, until Edd's phone rang in his pocket.

"_Sockhead, where'd you go? Kevin's? Well, we're at my house, so get over here! No Kevin can't come! …Alright, whatever. Just get over here._"

Edd hung up and looked back at Kevin, "Will you accompany me to Eddy's house? I assume Eddy will provide a small afternoon nourishment…" Kevin smirked and sat up beside him. "Nah, you don't want me over at his house. Shit might get real." So Edd re-dressed and left without Kevin once more, although the letterman jacket stayed planted on his shoulders the rest of the day.

The next day was the day of graduation, and Edd was the very first of the seniors to get to the school, already dressed. He was both nervous and excited, although he didn't show it. Anna joined him shortly after a few more teens rolled in, and greeted him with a gentle hug, causing his face to turn bright red. After he had calmed back down, he asked her, "So, Anna where are you going to attend college?" She grinned at him and said, "Well, I'm sticking around the ol' Peach Creek Community for a while."

Edd couldn't contain himself and exclaimed, "Wonderful! Ed will attend the community college as well, you can look out for him!" The smile on Anna's face never faltered. "Heh, well I won't be watching him alone."

A smack on his shoulder turned his attention to the person behind him. Nat had a way of materializing out of thin air, and it served him well. "You ready for this, hot stuff?" As Edd conversed with the two, he watched as more and more people flooded into the common room, but he could not see Kevin just yet. Typical, he huffed. Even Ed and Eddy showed up before Kevin did, and took their places in front of Edd. Just as the clock showed five minutes till, Kevin finally strolled in with the stragglers.

Eddy was standing in front of Edd to the left, directly in front of Kevin's spot, fighting with his tassel like a cat. "This-stupid-STRING!" Edd couldn't help himself. "It's not just a string, Eddy! It's a symbol of all your hard work…er…provided you actually _did_ work hard, and once we all have received our diplomas, we will turn them over to the other side of our hats in celebration of four years past!"

Eddy watched Edd's jaw go up and down disinterestedly until he stopped talking, then turned back to Ed and said, "My big bro's in town for graduation, and he brought a keg. He promised he'd share if I brought some of the chicks from school!" Ed grinned, showing off his horse teeth and exclaimed, "Ed loves chicks! Especially the ones with the yellow down and the orange beaks!"

Edd rolled his eyes and asked himself, "Why do I even bother? Nobody listens." Just then, Kevin took his stand beside the smart Ed and smirked, "I listen." The look on Edd's face was priceless as he huffed in indignation and said, "I'm just relieved that you made your appearance."

They could hear the principal giving his speech to the crowd, and Edd was fussing with the tassel on his hat, trying to perfect it, and smoothing out his robe. Kevin finally had to lean over and whisper, "Dude, stop screwing with yourself, that's _my_ job." Edd scowled. "Is that your go-to threat for every little whim?" Kevin shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"

Finally the music started to play in the gym and their line started to move forward. The butterflies in Edd's stomach grew worse and he found he couldn't even smile. When they passed through the thick white doors and the crowd of some hundreds of people looked at him, Edd was astounded. Of course Ed and Eddy were absolutely cheesing it, Eddy pointing out at the various girls in the crowd and making poses while Ed grinned and waved at everyone.

Edd on the other hand, was petrified, and his heart was beating in his ears. He felt the trembles take over, and his legs start to give. "Oh dear…"

A warm hand suddenly gripped his tightly right there, in front of the whole gym and Edd glanced over at Kevin, who smiled warmly at him. "Don't be scared, babe." Kevin swung their connected hands a little, unafraid to show everyone. The sock-headed Ed glanced at Nat and Anna behind them, who were also hand-in-hand, and both grinned at him.

A loud cheer from the stands right beside him brought Edd's attention over to them. A few guys were pointing at him and Kevin and were clapping for them. Of course Kevin grinned and raised their hands up for them to see and earned even more cheers and claps from the crowd. Edd turned to Kevin and muttered, "Who was that?" Kevin shrugged as they came to their row of seats and said, "No idea."

When they finally made it to their seats, they both took their spots, but their hands never disconnected. The school board and the principal all began droning on and on about things, and Edd sat quietly while people around them were all trying to get Kevin's attention and talk to him. Kevin snickered and talked to one of the football players for a little bit before Edd cleared his throat and whispered, "Kevin, you're being disrespectful."

Kevin sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Sorry babe. I just don't care about their speeches." Edd didn't say anything else, although he would like to have. Then the principal finally asked to present the graduating class. The first row went, and Edd's heart began to pump again and he found himself shaking. Eddy turned and leaned over, whispering across the row, "Sockhead! You're making the floor rattle, calm down!"

When their row was called, Edd felt a little calmer as he walked across the floor to line up by the stage. As Eddy went across the stage, he could faintly hear an air horn and some claps. Ed was next, tripping up the stairs and clumsily making his way across the stage like the adorable lump he was. Edd clapped for Ed happily as he accepted the roll of paper from the principal, then flew down the stairs on the other side.

**_"Eddward Marion Vincent."_**

Edd took a deep breath, and just as he was about to head up, he felt a light slap on his hindquarters, making him squeak. "_You can do it, babe._" His heart fluttered with happiness as he stepped up to receive his diploma.

Honestly, he didn't remember anything after climbing the steps, not even the cheering or the clapping. The next thing he knew, he was back in his seat, watching as Kevin was called.

After they announced his name, Edd's ears rang with the roar of the crowd around him and the class. Air horns sounded, and loud screaming and cheers filled the air as Kevin swaggered across the stage, that adorable cocky attitude of his apparent. Edd could feel his grin spread from ear to ear, and when Kevin turned to the crowd and threw his fists in the air, the sockhead uncharacteristically yelled in celebration and clapped as hard as he could, though he was drowned out by the rest of the crowd.

The rest of the class went by in a blur, and soon they were standing up and the principal was congratulating them. They waited until at long last he told them to turn their tassels to the other side. In a moment's notice, they all had their caps off and were throwing them in the air. Edd refrained, though he took his off. In the midst of the confusion, Kevin grabbed Edd and pulled him in, kissing him right there in front of everyone.

The sounds of the people around him faded, and all of Edd's senses were focused on Kevin as he wrapped his arms around his shoulders and kissed back. Kevin was the first to pull away, and he looked deeply into Edd's eyes, grinning like an idiot. Edd returned his grin and they stood for a minute longer before they were ushered out with the rest of the class.

Afterwards in the common room, they stood among their friends. Eddy was eager to get going, but Edd begged him to stay for a bit longer. This was the last time their class would be together. Anna approached the boys, requesting a picture of them. Edd was delighted and insisted she join them. Before he knew it, Nat and Kevin had joined them, too. One of the teachers standing in the commons agreed to take it for them, and on the count of three, Kevin had him tightly wrapped in his arms while Eddy, Ed, Anna, and Nat were surrounding them.

After that, Anna and Nat departed together, both agreeing to visit often during the summer. Then Eddy left, determined to find his brother only to inevitably make a fool of himself. The three Eds agreed to meet later on that evening, then it came down to Edd and Kevin.

The ginger stood facing him, the happiest he'd been in a long time. "You down for dinner at my place?" Edd's smile never left. "I thought you had a party at Nazz's?" Kevin shook his head. "I'll be seeing her all summer, and I don't really care for the rest of those dudes." Edd nodded and accepted his offer. Kevin took his hand and squeezed it gently. "C'mon Double dweeb. Let's go home."

The ecstasy flowing through both of the teens as they made their way through the crowd was amazing. Nobody's opinion mattered anymore. All the smart Ed could do was gleefully smile and giggle to himself as they walked away hand-in-hand. He was looking forward to a nice long summer with Kevin.

**The End**

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WHEEEE! Finished! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU for EVERYTHING guys, this was a good story to write, and I loved every one of your reviews.

As it turns out, I've got the most reviews asking for a story that contains BOTH reg Kevedd and rev! Kevedd. SO! Here's what I'm thinking. I'm gonna write a sequel to this story. They're all in college, and I will include rev!Kevin and rev!Edd.

So thank you guys so much for reading this story, and don't worry. They're not stopping here. I'll be the next freakin' J.K. Rowling with this KevEdd stuff, except I won't kill everyone you love. :P

Leave a review with whatever's going through your pretty little heads! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a new story to get started on!


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